| Do, or do not. There is
no 'try'.
-Yoda (The
Empire Strikes Back)
The development
of a human presence on Mars will require engineers to
develop many complex systems. The resulting new technologies
that will emerge from this research and development
will result in long-term benefits to the people of Earth.
Already the space program has developed new technologies
that have been spun off into use all over the world
in hundreds of applications.
Spin-offs
from a human mission to Mars will result in the development
of many new technologies including:
At
Home with NASA Technologies can show you how NASA
benefits you at home, in the museum, at the hospital,
at the mall, in science, on the farm, at the stadium,
at the firehouse, at the airport and globally around
the world!
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Telemedicine,
or the delivery of medical support to distant
locations as proposed for use on Mars, will
be helpful on Earth to diagnose diseases and
offer treatments to remote regions. Medical
staff from one area could perform operations
by getting instructions from specialists far
away.
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Medical
technologies will have to be developed to support
human missions to Mars that will be smaller, more compact,
and lightweight. Innovations will probably be developed
to improve upon many techniques that will have to be
performed on Mars. Advances in noninvasive medical techniques
could help to eliminate the need for surgery in some
cases. These innovations are called spin-offs because
they provide applications for people here on Earth as
well.
Miniaturization
of equipment, as being developed for robotics
applications for Mars, will benefit people in
many disciplines here on Earth. Smaller and
lighter equipment of all types will be of use
when transporting things long distance or to
remote regions. Smaller machines use less energy
and generate less waste, making them more efficient
and better for the environment.
The
development of more efficient solar power
generators that would be needed on Mars
because of the reduced amount of sunlight has
direct application to people on Earth as well.
Currently, we are running out of consumable
natural resources for energy. Cleaner, safer
ways of producing energy such as solar power
will greatly benefit us on Earth.
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Inflatable
structures, such as those being designed for transportation
to and from habitats on Mars, can be used easily on
Earth. They can be used as shelters for military teams
in emergency situations, rescues, and evacuations during
natural disasters, for example.
Telecommunications
advances, which will allow for faster data transmission
and retrieval, will be needed to increase communications
between Earth and Mars. Any developments in telecommunications
systems will directly benefit Earth, enabling
the development and expansion of communications
systems that require very high data rates (such
as the Internet and video conferencing). Click
here for a short tutorial on telecommunications.
The
development of efficient and safe closed-loop
environmental systems will result in many
recycling techniques that will be necessary for
us here on Earth as we begin to outgrow our planet.
Conservation of water is a prime example.
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Click
here for spin-offs from the Space Shuttle
Program and here
for spin-offs from the Apollo Program. To read
about current spin-offs, click
here.
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Questions
to think about:
- What other new technologies might be developed
in planning a colony on Mars?
- How have NASA technologies helped the people of
Earth so far?
Next...
Terraforming
Mars (pg. 10 of 10) |
