Jan 30 1981
From The Space Library
Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Space News Roundup said that a conference sponsored by NASA and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), attended by representatives of major U.S. industries, heard briefings on systems developed for the space program that were applicable to Earth-based activities. Representatives of Dow Chemical, Exxon, ITT, Johnson & Johnson, Teledyne, 3M, Xerox, and numerous other corporations learned about pharmaceutical production in Earth-orbiting laboratories, life-support systems designed for space suits, and an electromechanical alternative to conventional hydraulic actuators.
Bryan Erb of JSC's Earth-resources division described the use of satellite observations to predict crop growth or locate mineral deposits or oil sources. From 1974 to 1978 JSC had managed the Large-Area Crop-Inventory Experiment (LACIE), showing how sensors on an orbiting platform could read and relay to Earth the characteristic signatures of Earth features used by scientists and engineers to make mathematical models on a worldwide basis. The AgRISTARS (agricultural resources inventory survey through aerospace remote sensing) project was carrying the measurements further, reading out thermal conditions, predicting soil moisture, and analyzing crops in the visual (as compared to infrared) spectrum. Erb said a worldwide remote-sensing system should be available within the next 20 years for managing Earth resources.
Another innovation would be to work in space with living cells and proteins to develop products for fighting disease. Products like beta cells, enzymes, and immunoglobulins produced by kidney cells were already available in hospitals, but at astronomical cost. JSC's Dennis Morrison said that on the ground this kind of work was limited to a microbiological level; working in space with larger amounts would mean a 20 to 50% improvement. Pituitary, kidney, and pancreas cells would be among candidates for spaceflight, even though weight limitations would delay early commercial processing. (JSC Space News Roundup, Jan 30/81, 4)
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