The annual World Space Week wrapped-up this week, bringing together people from around the world to “strengthen the link between space and society through public education, participation and dialogue on the future of space activity.” This year’s theme, “Space and Sustainability”, encouraged attendees to consider the role of technological advancements in preserving the planet and exploring outer space. Prior World Space Week themes include “Women in Space” and “Satellites Improve Life.”
Space exploration has captured the imagination of people around the world for decades ever since the United States became the first first country to successfully land a human being on the moon in 1969, beating out the Soviet Union in what would become the Space Race of the 20th century. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) leads and executes American space exploration and research like the first Apollo 11 mission. Other agencies across the globe do the same, like Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Australia’s Space Industry, and India’s Space Research Organisation. Countries across the world frequently collaborate on joint space research, including current efforts like the International Space Station, the multinational space project that includes NASA, JAXA, Russia’s Roscosmos, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Countless scientific advances have arisen from U.S. and global space research efforts, many with benefits extending beyond space exploration.
The creation of memory foam technology, for example, was discovered by astronautical engineer Charles Yost in 1967 after working at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. In the years since, memory foam technology has been used in a variety of other advances, from providing football players extra protection inside their helmets to making mattresses more comfortable. Another invention, the cochlear implant, which has improved the general performance of hearing aids, also arose from NASA’S research after Adam Kissiah Jr. developed the technology while working at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. And the insulin pump, a critical tool to treat diabetes, stems from research discovered in the development of NASA’s Mars Viking spacecraft, which landed on Mars in the 1970s. Through each of these inventions, NASAs groundbreaking research has improved the lives of everyday people here on Earth.