Technology and society
- Paper number
IAC-07-E5.I.11
- Author
Ms. Bieke Druyts, Belgium
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Space is not only left for the astronauts, taikonauts or cosmonauts. It is left for everybody who wants to discover. Thanks to the race between Russia and America, we got into a fast evolving system which makes us understand space better and better every day. From Yuri Gagarin (1961), and Neil Armstrong (1969), to space tourism nowadays, we see that the sky is certainly not the limit. But we have to take into account that there is not only the philosophical or mythical ‘What is space’-question to answer, there is far more… This makes us expand the domain of only aeronautics in the more humane domain. A lot of equipment we use today is a spin-off from space. In the medical field we see that CAT (computer thermography)- and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans are used for research of the bones and organic fabric. This spin-off comes from the ‘Apollo-project’ (1960’s) where NASA wanted to make some detailed moon pictures. Also the drilling machine is fruitful heritage of that Apollo mission. Also, the circumstances in space are different than on earth, so we can do experiences and see reactions. Mostly based on physics, and concerned with vacuum and being weightless. And via GPS we find our way on earth, through satellites. Another interesting thing is living conditions in a space cabin. How to cope with no gravity? Biologically means no gravity, also less need for heart beating. So it is needed for space travelers to do some exercise. They sleep in very narrow capsules, go in a very strange way to the toilet and eat totally no chips. Lots of stories were told by one of my professors, Mr Dirk Frimout, who was the first Belgian astronaut and traveled with the Atlantis around the earth in 1992. As an engineer architect I was provided with new information, but he also searched for topics related to all of our study fields: energy, new materials, medicines… There are a lot of things to say about space and how to explore it. Lots of those things are too technical and sometimes in a very early stage to speak off. That is why it is important to make things transparent to the public. How does space function, and what are the advantages by discovering it for society? I think we already passed the philosophical question, although not every star is mapped. Now it is the responsibility for space centers and all scientists to make space more touchable and try to answer new world questions. Can we live somewhere besides the earth is the most futuristic question, but the need for renewable energies, the search for cures for diseases, are also at stake. Space traveling is not something epic, but actually very down to earth.
- Abstract document