|
In the Yahoo! International Space Station category, we discovered an array of web sites from media outlets such as CNN, PBS, and the Discovery Channel, to official sites from governmental space agencies in Europe, Canada, and the United States. We consulted the recommended sites in this category, designated by the sunglasses icon ( ). The first one, ISS Overview, was created jointly by Boeing, NASA, and the United Space Alliance to serve as an online press kit for the space station. A cooperative effort of 16 nations, four times as large as the Russian Mir
station, the ISS project represents "a move of unprecedented scale off the home planet." It is hoped that scientific research planned for six separate space laboratories will lead to discoveries in medicine, materials, and fundamental science that will benefit the people of Earth. Experimentation in space can forward our understanding of technologies required for further space exploration and possible habitation. Planned research includes studies of protein crystal, tissue culture, life in low gravity, the behavior of materials in space, and exterior studies of the space environment. The second recommended site, NASA Human Spaceflight, describes recent benefits of
space station science for contemporary Earth-dwellers: improved ergonomic solutions for industrial workers, better mapping technologies, new medical innovations, and cooler toys and golf clubs. From a NASA FAQ we learned that the ISS costs each American approximately $8 yearly, but that "money spent on America's space program is a good investment. Every dollar spent by NASA returns at least $2 in direct and indirect benefits." It's not exactly a business plan, but it is reassuring. For current news and details of the next shuttle mission, STS-98, scheduled for January 18, 2001, point your browser to Full Coverage: International Space
Station from Yahoo! News.
|
