Benefits to Earth

Benefits to Earth earth
Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.

-Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back)

The development of a human presence on Mars will require engineers to develop many complex systems. The resulting new technologies that will emerge from this research and development will result in long-term benefits to the people of Earth. Already the space program has developed new technologies that have been spun off into use all over the world in hundreds of applications.

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Spin-offs from a human mission to Mars will result in the development of many new technologies including:

At Home with NASA Technologies can show you how NASA benefits you at home, in the museum, at the hospital, at the mall, in science, on the farm, at the stadium, at the firehouse, at the airport and globally around the world!
 

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Telemedicine, or the delivery of medical support to distant locations as proposed for use on Mars, will be helpful on Earth to diagnose diseases and offer treatments to remote regions. Medical staff from one area could perform operations by getting instructions from specialists far away.

Medical technologies will have to be developed to support human missions to Mars that will be smaller, more compact, and lightweight. Innovations will probably be developed to improve upon many techniques that will have to be performed on Mars. Advances in noninvasive medical techniques could help to eliminate the need for surgery in some cases. These innovations are called spin-offs because they provide applications for people here on Earth as well.

Miniaturization of equipment, as being developed for robotics applications for Mars, will benefit people in many disciplines here on Earth. Smaller and lighter equipment of all types will be of use when transporting things long distance or to remote regions. Smaller machines use less energy and generate less waste, making them more efficient and better for the environment.

The development of more efficient solar power generators that would be needed on Mars because of the reduced amount of sunlight has direct application to people on Earth as well. Currently, we are running out of consumable natural resources for energy. Cleaner, safer ways of producing energy such as solar power will greatly benefit us on Earth.
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Inflatable structures, such as those being designed for transportation to and from habitats on Mars, can be used easily on Earth. They can be used as shelters for military teams in emergency situations, rescues, and evacuations during natural disasters, for example.

Telecommunications advances, which will allow for faster data transmission and retrieval, will be needed to increase communications between Earth and Mars. Any developments in telecommunications systems will directly benefit Earth, enabling the development and expansion of communications systems that require very high data rates (such as the Internet and video conferencing). Click here for a short tutorial on telecommunications.

The development of efficient and safe closed-loop environmental systems will result in many recycling techniques that will be necessary for us here on Earth as we begin to outgrow our planet. Conservation of water is a prime example.
 

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Click here for spin-offs from the Space Shuttle Program and here for spin-offs from the Apollo Program. To read about current spin-offs, click here.
 

Questions to think about:

  • What other new technologies might be developed in planning a colony on Mars? 
  • How have NASA technologies helped the people of Earth so far?

Next... Terraforming Mars (pg. 10 of 10)