Space travel and space exploration is more than just studying the worlds beyond our world, it’s also responsible for providing many inventions we use today. NASA, and other space agencies, frequently conduct experiments in space which are sometimes intentional in testing an idea and sometimes their experiments lead to an accidental innovation. Conducting research and testing in space provides a unique environment in which certain things can be done in zero gravity that cannot be done here on Earth. Other innovations are designed here on Earth for use in space, but the benefits quickly pour over into the private sector.
Under the Space Act of 1958, NASA’s research and technological innovations must benefit everyone, and not just the space industry. Since the act NASA has produced a continual flow of inventions and discoveries which numbering almost 2,000 spinoffs since 1976 alone, most of these technologies are integrated into everyday life without us realising where they came from.
Space travel and exploration have since expanded to the private sector with companies like SpaceX, who have been launching rockets recently and returning them back to Earth. It’s entirely feasible that one day companies like SpaceX will have the capacity to build space stations where even more research can be done by private companies. The amount of products and inventions that have been made is lengthy but the folks over at Satellite Broadband UK have made an infographic that shows twenty of those products, check it out below.
It’s safe to say that at least a few of these twenty items we all use on a daily basis and many of them we’ve used at one point or another. Space travel is going to continue to be an important scientific and innovative resource for our foreseeable future.
What do you think of this space travel infographic? What other inventions or products would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
[button link=”http://www.satellitebroadbanduk.com/about-satellite-broadband/news/march-2016/20-things-we-wouldnt-have-without-space-travel” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Satellite Broadband UK[/button]Last Updated on January 23, 2017.
