Page 460 - Canadian BC Science 9

Many things you use every day were originally invented by
scientists and engineers for use in space.
Rewards of Space Travel
Spinoff technology
A great deal of technology that was originally invented and designed for use in space has found new purpose on Earth. These spinoff technologies include hundreds of items we use in our day-to-day lives. The list is long, but some examples are freeze-dried foods, high-tech running shoes, bicycle helmets, cold weather clothing, light sportswear, sunglasses, insulin pumps, eye examination systems, locator beacons, and self-repairing computers (Figure 12.31).
Space tourism
The lure of space travel is not reserved just for highly trained astronauts. Progress in space travel technology has meant improvements in safety and significantly lowered costs. As a result, some companies are now coming up with clever ways to attract adventurous travellers into space such as charging people to stay at the International Space Station and selling tickets for a short flight into space.
Another idea related to space tourism is terraforming. Terraforming is the idea that an extraterrestrial environment, such as Mars, could be transformed into an Earth-like biosphere that humans could inhabit (Figure 12.32). An effort like this would, of course, be extremely costly— if it were even possible. Most scientists argue that because Mars was not large enough to hold its original atmosphere, it would not be able to maintain a newly created atmosphere.
Figure 12.31
Figure 12.32 The process of terraforming Mars would require creating large natural systems such as a water cycle and plant life to generate and maintain an atmosphere like Earth’s. This image shows an artist’s idea of a terraformed Mars.
442 MHR • Unit 4 Space Exploration