Mar 14 1973
From The Space Library
Dr. George M. Low, NASA Deputy Administrator, cited examples of space technology spinoff in testimony before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences during FY 1974 authorization hearings: A heat recovery system developed from an improved means for eliminating thermal gradients in spacecraft would soon be available for use as a home unit that would provide adequate warm air and hot water from a single flame source. A fast-scan infrared camera adapted from Marshall Space Flight Center research would project 60 frames per second, giving "the same flicker-free image you receive on your TV set." An irreversible warm-up indicator adapted from NASA-sponsored low-temperature balloon battery research could warn when frozen food had been exposed to too high a temperature.
A low-cost portable drug detector developed under Ames Research Center auspices would detect drugs in urine in microscopic amounts. ARC had cooperated with the NASA-sponsored Biochemical Application Team at Stanford Univ. to develop a consumable pill to telemeter body temperature to a remote display unit. The pill could determine the location of ulcers or tumors within the intestines. The need to monitor astronauts' sleep had led to the development of a sleep analyzer-a soft electrode cap-that required no scalp preparation for good electrode contact. The NASA-sponsored Biomedical Team at Southwest Research Institute had helped make Temper Foam available for prevention of bedsores and as an impact-absorbing material for artificial limbs. The foam had been developed under ARC contract. (Transcript)
Apollo 17 geologist-astronaut Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt testified on the legacy of the Apollo program before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on Manned Space Flight in hearings on NASA's FY 1974 authorization: As man emerged "from the scientific revolution brought about by Apollo on the Moon with the simultaneous revolution brought about by new insight into the origins of ocean basins and continents on the Earth, we may begin to understand the great stresses and strains within our crust as ocean floors grow and continents move. These stresses and strains profoundly affect the everyday lives of people living within belts of present earthquakes and volcanic activity. Within future understanding of the frozen ocean of basalt of [Oceanus] Procellarum and the vast ridge and volcanic system that splits it, may lie the simplification of thought about past events that leads to the expansion of thoughts about present events. I will be the first to admit that these last comments give free run to the imagination. However, knowledge never becomes a resource until it is married to imagination. It is thus ... that the scientific legacy of Apollo will be realized."
Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, Marshall Space Flight Center Director and former Apollo Program Director, reported the status of the five scientific stations deployed on the moon during the Apollo program: The first station deployed by Apollo 12, in November 1969, "is still functioning over 3 years after its initial deployment in the very demanding environment of the Moon. . . . The fact that this equipment can stand these rigors of temperature and vacuum ... and still function ... demonstrates one facet of the technology we have developed." All five stations were still functioning, though some of the experiments had been lost. The first total station, on Apollo 12, had been designed for a one-year life. "And yet we have had it over 3 years ... and the seismometers worked beautifully all 3 years." The superthermal ion detector was "working beautifully and had for 3 years, night and day." NASA had "five seismic units just giving us beautiful information on the seismic tremors of the Moon and meteorite impacts, so now we can locate them fairly accurately."
Dr. Charles A. Berry, Director of Life Sciences in OMSF, reported: "We are vastly wiser in many medical and technical areas for our ‘decade in space.' Much has been learned about the effects of the space flight environment upon man. We have found that some body systems respond to space flight factors . . . with changes . . . observable in the period immediately following space flight, Occasionally changes have been noticeable during the inflight period of the mission. None of these changes has been of such a severity as to cause any real concern for man's safety in space, but all changes are ... being watched closely lest they have implications for long duration flight." Cardiovascular responses which showed the greatest changes also appeared most amenable to regulation by inflight countermeasures, such as lower body negative pressure. Medication had not proved of value in treating either the cardiovascular deconditioning or the loss of exercise capacity. Countermeasures were also being investigated for the small bone density losses noted. A decrease in heart size had been noted in both U.S. and Soviet space crewmen and some Soviet crewmen had experienced postflight muscular difficulties. "Both astronauts and cosmonauts have also reported sensations resembling sea sickness during spaceflight. On the whole, however, U.S. astronauts do not appear to be excessively plagued by motion sickness symptoms. The growth of opportunistic microorganisms appears to be favored in the space environment.” (Transcript)
Alexander P. Butterfield was sworn in as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration by Secretary of Transportation Claude S. Brinegar. Butterfield succeeded John H. Shaffer, who had returned to private life after four years as FAA Administrator, (FAA Release, 3/22/73)
The American Photographic Interpretation Award of the American Society of Photogrammetry was presented in Washington, D.C., to NASA's Earth Resources Technology Satellite Team for important contributions to Asp's interests. (NASA Activities, 4/15/73, 72)
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