ABSTRACT
I have been interviewed many times about this subject of space exploration and have been a member of specialist professional panels looking at various aspects of this field. One of the surprisingly frequent questions that is asked is often, “Why do you think space travel is important?” There are many answers that can be given, but one that I think is genuinely valuable is that manned missions push the innovation envelope for technological spin-offs and applied science-based applications. Many of the biggest leaps forward with computing, AI (artificial intelligence), science, medicine, material science, and design innovation have been developed in large part through the requirements to problem-solve space exploration. What I think can be missed by outsiders are the multiple professions required to create the technological leaps and to problem solve to develop sustainable applications for these new technologies to properly work. What can be missed is how much ingenuity is actually required to rise to the next level of capacity.
