User:Landotheawesome/sandbox

Space Program: Cultural Benefits
Throughout the history of man, we have been obsessed by space. From the ancient Aztecs, who built the temples to match the phases of the moon and stars, to when man first landed on the moon, humanity has sought to find what is beyond the borders of familiarity and to boldly colonize it. From this burning passion of adventure spawned the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Since its conception, NASA has discovered and commercialized many unexpectedly beneficial technologies, each of which are extremely beneficial to humanity. The threat of NASA's Russian counterpart, the Soviet Space Program, pushed NASA to launch many satellites into our upper atmosphere thereby connecting humanity in unprecedented ways. Because of these satellites, we gained the Global Positioning System (GPS) that now supply directions to anywhere, anytime, directly to our phones. NASA's astronauts also have given us an example of what true coexistence looks like: for a year at a time, people from different countries over the globe exist in an extremely cramped space, learning from each other, teaching each other, and having to live in community with one another. They solve problems and conduct experiments. Sometimes they create problems, sometimes they have fun. There is so much we could learn from the astronauts up in space. They don’t judge people based on skin color, they don’t care about ethnicity, they only care about if you can do your job and do it well.

Space Program: Technological Benefits
NASA's breakthroughs in technology have revolutionized our culture, our communities, and our lives. Some of that technology has become so commonplace that we cannot imagine life without them. For instance: were it not for the space programs, we would not have phones cameras. These were created (the camera) by the space program to fit into space shuttles. Also, athletic shoes were created for the design and function of space suits and wireless headphones allowed astronaut communication to be wireless and hands-free. A little bit less commonplace but no less important, the Space Program also created solar arrays to provide power for space probes. Solar arrays have powered Mars rovers for decades, providing both power and reusability. Even now, there is technology that is being tested now that was considered to be "impossible", otherwise know as a radio frequency (RF) resonant cavity thruster (also called an EM drive). EM drives emit microwaves in a controlled way that provides thrust. For every other thruster, thrust was generated by the controlled burning of extremely heavy rocket fuel. If these EM drives prove to work, then all that weight from the rocket fuel and rocket engines would no longer be a factor in the launch of spacecraft, thus lightening the craft significantly. However, scientists are still unsure of whether this technology works because of something to do with Earth's magnetic field or whether it can be used on space craft. Another more realistic form of experimental thrust is known simply as laser propulsion. This form of propulsion uses both a solar sail and a focused beam of photons that push an object through space.