Worldview Item of the Day
NASA is set to launch the space shuttle Atlantis this week carrying one of the most interesting pieces of hardware destined for the International Space Station, the Dextre Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.
For critics of manned space flight and the ISS, I think the Dextre represents a powerful riposte. The technology in systems like Dextre represent technology that will apply not only in space but in thousands of terrestrial applications that will benefit humanity for centuries to come.
The manned exploration of space has always been an incubator for the development of technology that we come to rely on in our everyday lives. Such technology would arguably not come into existence without the drive and funding provided by things like space exploration.
Of course, there are always many ways that the people’s money can be spent, but unlike many expenditures, space exploration provides dividends that can be directly and incontrovertibly measured in improved lives and greater access. Dextre is another example of that trend, for the benefit of us all.
