Moon Walking....

Today is the 35th anniversary of the first walk on the moon.  Our family of 5, dad, mom & 3 youngsters, were spending a few days camping at Bon Echo provincial park in south/eastern Ontario.  We were returning to our campsite after a stroll down to the lake.  I believe every radio in the campground was on, tuned to the live broadcast of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon's surface.  We stopped to listen, goose bumps on our arms, staring up at the moon in the sky.  An evening to remember.
 
Still there is the debate whether the space program is worth all the billions of money poured into it.  Many say take care of the earth's problems before trying to explore outer space, the money is wasted when it could be used for medicine, etc., etc.  Taking that into consideration, even with the billions spent on space exploration, it would not begin to cure earth's problems of illness or what have you, but the short-sighted ones still complain & want the money "to stay here".
 
What has the space program done for the earth?  Well, we would not be using computers world-wide & what computers there are, they would likely not be the microcomputers we know of today.  Satellites..likely still be years ahead & we would not be able to keep track of storms as easily, watch TV signals sent from the other side of the world instantly; banking, paying by credit or debit card--these are done in the blink of an eye; doctors being able to monitor their patients in their office or hospital, with the patient still at home.  Technology originally created to better understand airflow over airplane wings has been transferred into a portable, non-invasive fetal heart monitor. This advancement lowers fetal mortality by making prenatal care more accessible for expectant mothers who live in remote areas or otherwise have trouble traveling to a doctor's office.  Medical researchers are currently using the same silica aerogel that insulated Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner rover to grow lung cells and study DNA.  Global Positioning System (GPS)..can't get lost if you have one--must get my spouse one.  ;)
 
This is just a very short list of advancements curtesy of the space program.  Waste of money......don't think so.  We are living in a "blossoming" era, maybe not ideal, but one so much better than before the Space Age began.  It is a good day.......
 
Starfire