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Research called good for mankind
By Tatsha Robertson, Globe Staff, 2/12/2003
As the House Science Committee opens the first congressional hearing today into why the shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas on Feb. 1 the debate over whether the benefits of the space program justify its costs is expected to intensify. Officials for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, concerned that important work in space is not always understood by average Americans, highlighted technologies that were developed for astronauts, satellites, and avionics systems and later adapted for commercial purposes. ''What you have to understand,'' said Michael Braukus, a NASA spokesman, ''is that this is an additional benefit we are giving the taxpayers in return for their tax dollars. They are paying to improve aeronautics to explore our planet and the solar system, but this is something above and beyond our mission. This is an additional benefit from the space program.'' Last week, President Bush requested a nearly $500 million increase to NASA's $15 billion budget for fiscal 2004. But critics argue that Americans are not getting enough for their investment in space.
''If you are throwing billions of dollars to something, let's hope you get a jacket out of it,'' said Ursula Goodenough, professor of biology at Washington University and the former president of the American Society for cell biology. '' If you are trying to figure how to make a toilet or a jacket work up there where you have a huge lab and really smart people, there's going to be spinoffs. But that isn't the most economic way to get a new jacket.'' Robert Park, one of NASA's most vocal critics and the director of the American Physical Society's office of public information, dismisses NASA's contention that Americans have reaped benefits from the space program. He said NASA takes credit for the inventions of private companies that actually developed some of the gadgets and processes that have become useful in everyday life. But Rick Chappell, a research professor of Physical Science at Vanderbilt University, said the residual benefits of space exploration are real. The list includes X-ray devices used in sports medicine that were originally developed by astronomers; wearable heart monitors; software originally designed for an unmanned space craft that is now used in CD players. ''It goes on and on,'' Chappell said. Chappell, who worked for NASA for 24 years, said critics often fail to recognize that the real benefits of the program are not always tangible. ''They are missing the big picture,'' he said. ''The biggest thing is it challenges our creative people to go out and solve problems and find new things. That is what feeds the technical side of America's economy. '' Paul Ronney, a professor for the University of Southern California and a backup astronaut for two missions, said the practical benefits that grow out of space technology sometimes take years to see. He said some applications first used nearly 30 years ago are just now being tested on cars. ''Really, the more appropriate way of looking at the benefits of the space program is in the science. We learn how things work without gravity,'' said Ronney. ''Why do we care? The purpose is not so much because we want to learn about the space environment, but a lot of the time it's to really learn how gravity affects the process on earth. '' Henry Hertzfeld, research scientist for George Washington University and a former economist for NASA, said the spinoffs are not the real reason the government spends billions on the space program. ''The fact is NASA is spending the money because our government felt this is a mission worth doing,'' he said. ''Anything else that comes out of it is a little bit icing on the cake.''
This story ran on page A3 of the Boston Globe on 2/12/2003.
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© Copyright 2003 New York Times Company |
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and-held vacuum cleaners, kitchen faucets that reduce traces of lead in drinking water, and the ''cool suits'' worn by race car drivers are just a few of the many products that NASA officials point to as residual benefits of the US space program.
