What Is Going To Become Of Nasa? What Purpose Do They Serve?

[Floppin]

See this I agree with, NASA has an overbloated budget with no true mission. They allow the private sector to captor just a portion of those funds for development, we will have some serious progress....

Nasa's budget is pennies compared to anything else in our National Budget. It averages to about 0.5% of the national budget. Not even a whole 1%

[Floppin]

[Epistaxis]

Yeah, because we have never received any benefit from research, exploration, science, forward thinking, etc.

Ugh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spin-off

[cookinwithgas]

This is a stupid thread. NASA does aeronautical research, environmental research, materials research....NASA has literally created the world we live in today.

Commercial companies are not going to invest in the basic research needed for tomorrow as their attention span is measured in half decades at best.

As far as space exploration goes, it is past time to let commercial companies build on what NASA has done and commercialize near Earth orbit, so NASA can do what it is designed to do - push the boundries of what we can do.

[Niner National]

Ooooh but we are talking about gov funded "private sector".... Lol, yea thatll save money.

Yeah if a bottle of water costs $100 in Iraq from a private contractor, imagine how much it would cost in space!

[thefuzz]

IMO, NASA is sort of like steak.

It's one of those things that you have to cut out when you are broke. Not saying that you can't ever eat it again, but if your credit card debt is more than your yearly income, it's time to cut it out.

[Inimicus]

IMO, NASA is sort of like steak.

It's one of those things that you have to cut out when you are broke. Not saying that you can't ever eat it again, but if your credit card debt is more than your yearly income, it's time to cut it out.

Did you see the map posted by Floppin?

Spending money on NASA directly and positively impacts the economies of all 50 states.

Plenty of better ways to cut a few billion dollars out of our budget.

[cookinwithgas]

Number 6 is near and dear to my heart

Since October 1, 1958, Houston has solved countless problems, not just in space but here on Earth. Contrary to popular belief, Nasa did NOT invent barcodes, quartz clocks, smoke detectors, Teflon or Velcro.

But most of us have reason every day to thank Nasa for giant leaps in technology which we tend to take for granted. Here are 25 of them:

1. SATELLITE TELEVISION: Our world would not be the same without the satellites now in orbit around the Earth – all thanks to the space programme. They not only give us satellite broadcast television and radio but also power telecommunications including mobile phones and terrestrial TV networks.

2. SAT NAV: The global positioning system on which our in-car navigation systems are based was developed by the US Department of Defense. They would not exist without the space satellites.

3. GOOGLE EARTH: Mapping was never as accurate as the images we can now get thanks to satellites which from space can even see a dog in your back garden.

4. VIRTUAL REALITY: Nasa-developed research and advanced technology devices allow users to project themselves into a computer-generated environment. When coupled with a stereo-viewing device and appropriate software, it creates a feeling of actually being there.

5. ARTIFICIAL LIMBS: Prosthetic limbs are not new but advancements in space robotics are being adapted to create more lifelike, functioning limbs.

6. DIALYSIS: Modern machines to do the work of the kidneys – for patients waiting for or unable to have transplants – were developed as a result of a Nasa-developed chemical process.

7. MRI AND CAT SCANS: Nasa did not invent magnetic resonance imaging but it has contributed to major advances thanks to research into computer enhancement of pictures sent from the moon. Digital image processing has led to enhanced images of human organs.

8. BREAST CANCER SCREENING: A silicon chip originally developed for Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope makes the testing process less painful, less scarring and less expensive than traditional biopsy methods.

9. ULTRASOUND TO ASSESS SKIN DAMAGE: An advanced instrument uses ultrasound technology to assess the depth of burn damage immediately, improving patient treatment and saving lives in serious burn cases.

10. EAR THERMOMETER: Removing the need to use intrusive, mercury-based thermometers on newborn babies and critically ill patients, the ear thermometer uses infrared astronomy technology to measure the amount of energy emitted by the eardrum. This is how Nasa measures the temperature of stars and planets.

11. ATTENTION GETTER: Techniques used to measure brain activity in Nasa pilots are being used to improve attention spans for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

12. ROAD SAFETY: The cutting of grooves in concrete to increase traction was developed to reduce space shuttle accidents on runways. It is now applied to roads and has cut US traffic accidents by 85 per cent.

13. IMPROVED RADIAL TYRES: Goodyear developed a fibrous material five times stronger than steel for Nasa to use in parachutes to land the Viking explorers on Mars. They expanded the technology to produce a harder-wearing radial car tyre.

14. LANDMINE REMOVAL: Surplus rocket fuel is used for a flare that can burn a hole in the case of a mine and burn away its explosive content.

15. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS: Nasa software engineers have created thousands of computer programs to find imperfections in aerospace structures and components which has proved invaluable in air safety.

16. WATER FILTERS: Water-cleaning technology has existed since the early Fifties but Nasa came up with ways to filter it in more extreme situations. The activated charcoal with silver ions used in commercial filter systems cleans the water and kills bacteria.

17. FREEZE-DRIED FOOD: Nasa carried out extensive research to reduce the weight of food to be carried on missions. The result was a method for cooking food, freezing it quickly, then slowly heating it in a vacuum chamber to remove the ice crystals. The end product weighs one fifth of the original, while retaining 98 per cent of its nutrition.

18. TEMPER FOAM: Nasa developed a soft, high-energy-absorbent padding to improve crash protection in aircraft. Now “memory foam” is used in mattresses, pillows, military and civilian vehicles, sports safety equipment, amusement park rides, furniture and artificial limbs.

19. SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES: A modified version of a process developed by Nasa involves coating the lenses with a film of carbon that helps avoid scratches and decreases friction and reduces water spots.

20. RIBBED SWIMSUITS: The swimsuit worn by Olympic sensation Michael Phelps was developed with Nasa technology. Aerodynamic research came up with material which give 15 per cent faster speeds than any other swimsuit thanks to small, barely visible grooves that reduce friction and drag.

21. AERODYNAMIC GOLF BALLS: Technology is behind the design of golf balls with 500 dimples in a pattern of 60 triangles which allows the ball to maintain its initial speed longer and produce a more stable flight for better accuracy and distance.

22. ATHLETIC SHOES: Moon-boot material has been incorporated into running shoe midsoles to improve shock absorption and provide better stability and motion control.

23. PERSONAL ALARM SYSTEMS: A pen-sized ultrasonic transmitter used by prison guards, teachers, the elderly and disabled to call for help is based on space technology.

24. SPACE PENS: Most pens depend on gravity to make the ink flow to the ballpoint. The space pen was developed for the gravity-free space environment so that the ink cartridge contains pressurised gas to push the ink towards the ballpoint, so you can write upside down.

25. CORDLESS POWER TOOLS: The household and DIY products firm Black & Decker came up with a portable drill capable of extracting core samples from below the lunar surface during the Apollo missions. The same technology has been used on cordless miniature vacuum cleaners.

[Sapper]

We need to open up the space program; and keep NASA relevant.

[Wither]

20. RIBBED SWIMSUITS: The swimsuit worn by Olympic sensation Michael Phelps was developed with Nasa technology. Aerodynamic research came up with material which give 15 per cent faster speeds than any other swimsuit thanks to small, barely visible grooves that reduce friction and drag.

21. AERODYNAMIC GOLF BALLS: Technology is behind the design of golf balls with 500 dimples in a pattern of 60 triangles which allows the ball to maintain its initial speed longer and produce a more stable flight for better accuracy and distance.

24. SPACE PENS: Most pens depend on gravity to make the ink flow to the ballpoint. The space pen was developed for the gravity-free space environment so that the ink cartridge contains pressurised gas to push the ink towards the ballpoint, so you can write upside down.

The most important.

[Wanderlai]

Let Neil Degrasse Tyson run NASA. I really like him and enjoy listening to him speak about space. Its a huge mistake to not further explore and expand thinking about space.

[charlotte49er]

The Space Shuttle was only one of several projects NASA worked on, and most of them are still going.

Most of the other projects have been turned over to JPL or individiual universities. The ISA has even been broken up between the various countries. It's sad to think an agency and a nation who put a men on the moon, is a former shell of itself.

NASA helped the transistor along. (If you ever saw the USSR planned Lunar spacecraft and lander, it still had vacuum tubes in it!) the whole idea of electronic minaturization was helped along by the space race.

Not just the trasnisistor, but the IC chip! Both advances were made due to the space program.

But a Furbie (Yes the kids toy) has more computing power than the Lunar Lander did!

Some inventions that Cookingwithgas may have missed:

Invisible braces

Smoke detectors

Enriched Baby food

GPS!

[Guest Irv]

fug nasa they're nothing but a cover up to whats really going on.

[Inimicus]

Let Neil Degrasse Tyson run NASA. I really like him and enjoy listening to him speak about space. Its a huge mistake to not further explore and expand thinking about space.

I would literally be unable to keep myself from dancing in the street.

Short of having given the reins to Carl Sagan years ago nothing could be better for NASA or bring us as a nation more benefit from their efforts.