How is Space Research Beneficial to Living Standards on Earth?
As individuals in a society, you must have wondered about the workings and strategies of Governments in allocating their budgets for different activities at some point in your life. One of the places that the governments and many international companies are investing in, is space. In fact, millions of dollars are spent on space research every year. As I had mentioned, you may wonder if the decisions these governments and companies are making are sane or not; because you may think that while there are many problems right here on earth to solve, why would we want to go to space and try to come up with solutions to its unique problems? Well, although I do agree that there are problems down here on earth, I believe that space research has proven to be useful and beneficial in uplifting our very day-to-day lives. Three of the many benefits of space exploration are that the research supports water purification worldwide, it helps grow high-quality protein crystals, and it has made inoperable tumors operable with a robotic arm.
The first benefit of space exploration research is that they have helped develop the technology for the purification of water. While in space, the astronauts don’t really have access to huge amounts of clean water for their daily use; That’s why the space exploration scientists needed to have a cost-efficient way to provide the water for the astronauts. Using technology developed for the space station, at-risk areas can gain access to advanced water filtration and purification systems, making a life-saving difference in these communities. Joint collaborations between aid organizations and NASA technology show just how effectively space research can adapt to contribute answers to global problems. The commercialization of this station-related technology has provided aid and disaster relief for communities worldwide. The Water Security Corporation, in collaboration with other organizations, has deployed systems using NASA water-processing technology around the world.
The second benefit of space research exploration is related to the production of high-quality protein crystals. There are more than 100,000 proteins in the human body and as many as 10 billion in nature. Every structure is different, and each protein holds important information related to our health and to the global environment. The perfect environment in which to study these structures in space. Microgravity allows for optimal growth of the unique and complicated crystal structures of proteins leading to the development of medical treatments. An example of a protein that was successfully crystallized in space is hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase (H-PGDS), which may hold the key to developing useful drugs for treating muscular dystrophy. This particular experiment is an example of how understanding a protein’s structure can lead to better drug designs. Further research is ongoing and they are bound to solve the many medical problems we are facing today.
The third benefit of space exploration research is that it helps make inoperable tumors operable with a robotic arm. The delicate touch that successfully removed an egg-shaped tumor from Paige Nickason’s brain got a helping hand from a world-renowned arm — a robotic arm. The technology that went into developing neuroArm, the world’s first robot capable of performing surgery inside magnetic resonance machines, was born of the Canadarm (developed in collaboration with engineers at MacDonald, Dettwiler, and Associates, Ltd. [MDA] for the U.S. Space Shuttle Program) as well as Canadarm2 and Dextre, the Canadian Space Agency’s family of space robots performing the heavy lifting and maintenance outside of the International Space Station. Since Nickason’s surgery in 2008, neuroArm has been used in initial clinical experience with 35 patients who were otherwise inoperable.
To conclude, we’ve explored the three ways space exploration research is beneficial to the development of the quality of life here on earth. Space exploration research supporting water purification worldwide, helping grow high-quality protein crystals, and making inoperable tumors operable with a robotic arm were only three of its many benefits mentioned in this essay. With that, I hope that you have become more interested in the work of space research scientists, and have more respect for their work. These scientists are making a great impact in our lives after all; better be more optimistic about them.
