those benefits are not everlasting, and their expiration is imminent. NASA cannot sustain itself on its current budget. It’s essential that we marshal our resources toward reaching the next major outpost in the space frontier. Last October, President Barack Obama took a step toward doing just that. “We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America’s story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time,” he wrote on CNN.com. But Mars is only the beginning. We must look beyond.
We
live at the bottom of a well that stretches a million miles above us. It is steepest near the bottom—Earth’s gravity pulls strongest against the closest objects—and the farther you climb, the less
Earth pulls. Scientists and space engineers call it a gravity well. You could also call it our destiny, a continuation of the journey from humanity’s origins in Africa to our conquering of the skies. Our Gravity Well encompasses low Earth orbit, the moon, Mars, and a number of potentially valuable asteroids. It is the most rugged frontier humans have ever encountered—rough and hostile, yet filled with precious minerals, energy, water, and other means to sustaining life. We have sent probes that have traveled beyond our Well, but we’ve yet to send humans that far. The future of our species may depend on doing just that. If you look at some space maps, the blackness of space is intersected by curved lines that resemble a topographic map. Instead of a rising and falling landscape, though, space has centrifugal and centripetal forces—the pushing and pulling of masses. Lagrangian points are the “flat” places in space where the pulling and pushing forces are
NASA MISSION INSIGNIAS COURTESY OF NASA; OTHERS (L TO R): DRAGONIMAGES, WEDMOSCOW, IVANMILADINOVIC, MICHAELSVOBODA, STOCKIMAGE GROUP
How NASA Hooks You Up, Whether You Know It Or Not For decades, space technology has led to a vast array of earthbound “spinoffs”—tools and gadgets that have become intrinsic to our way of life—from health care and happy hour to the golf course.
APOLLO
SPACE SHUTTLE
HUBBLE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
MARS
GPS The program’s launch technology not only put GPS satellites into orbit—much of the technology that enables GPS in your smartphone came from Apollo, too.
ARTIFICIAL HEART These miniature devices were developed from space shuttle fuel pump technology and implanted in more than 200 patients.
ALSO
Infrared camera
SPEED SKATES Speedskater Chris Witty won Olympic gold in 2002 using a blade-sharpening tool inspired by a device used to create optics for the telescope.
GOLF CLUBS The Nicklaus Golf Company created clubs using highly elastic inserts made of Zeemet, a material designed for the station, which allows for more spin and ball control.
BEER The CO2 Craft Brewery Recovery System, based on technologies created to harvest, liquefy, and store the gas on Mars, makes it more economical for microbreweries to put the bubbles in beer.
Kidney dialysis machine Smoke detector Improved vehicle brakes
ALSO NASCAR insulation Prosthetic molds Gas leak detection
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ALSO
ALSO
Enhanced computer chips
Autonomous robotic arms
Panoramic photography
More efficient biopsies
360-degree camera
Tactical robots
Aeroponic gardens
Improved armor for police officers
Arthroscopic surgery diagnoses
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