66 years separated the Wright Brothers from the Apollo 11 moon landing. The next great frontier is not too far away. The students in today's classrooms will not only witness colonies on the Moon and Mars, they will also be the ones taking on these great frontiers and paving the way for humanity.
It’s conceivable that the first street-legal and sky-legal PAVs could be on the market by 2025. We’ll all see the PAV as a triumph of capitalism; and it will be, thanks in part to NASA’s catalyzing technology.
When most people think of spinoffs, they likely think of radio programs, video games, fiction novels, products, or TV shows like Young Sheldon, a spinoff of the Big Bang Theory. It’s an opportunity to dive into a particular character or scene. But what about NASA Spinoffs- not the rocket boosters spinning back to earth, but products that are benefiting humanity and got their start as a NASA technology?
When we look at the world’s biggest problems, most require solutions related to STEM. Based on this data, only a slight fraction of our country is able to solve these issues. In order to remain relevant and maintain our standing amongst nations, STEM education must be at the top-of-mind for every educator, politician, and when it comes down to it, every last one of us. Whether it’s discovering the cure for cancer, creating algorithms and systems for transportation, detecting the next terrorist attack, or developing the technology to send humans to Mars, the answer lies in equipping those in our classrooms with the knowledge, skills, the space to create, and the inspiration to do so.
A revived robust public space program today is the change we need to inspire the next generation of STEM students, teachers, and professionals. The future has always been linked to our identity as a nation. We could always make things better, and whatever it took, we were going to do that work.
Questions lead to innovation. How did everyday items come about in the first place?
Algorithms are pretty good at booking travel, providing friend suggestions, determining what ads should pop up in our feed, and even predicting human reactions. But what about more profound questions, such as the longevity of our species?
Why the decline in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) professionals? As the space program’s goals were pulled back by budgets designed to “save” money, and a post-Apollo generation came of age, the impetus of STEM declined with it.
Microgravity- The condition of free fall, when an object appears to be weightless. Microgravity in space allows the formation of precise crystals, along with other forms of manufacture and experimentation that would be near- impossible on Earth.
Look close... this is the technology that sent astronauts into space! We wear more advanced technology around our wrists each day in the form of Smart Watches than what sent man to the moon in 1969.