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Yesterday marked the end of the Perseverance rover’s 300m mile journey to Mars and the start of a 687-day mission to better understand whether the planet would make for a nice place to live.
Costs for development and operation of the rover will likely total $2.4B…
… But the benefits on Earth are likely worth far more
Since the 1960s, NASA’s Mars programs have led to countless innovations, including materials for heart surgeries, methane-leak detectors, and -- importantly -- carbonating beer.
With Perseverance, it’s no different:
· Honeybee Robotics developed drill bits for the rover’s robotic arm that were also commercialized for use with standard drills
· Tempo Automation simulated designs for NASA’s circuit boards and then discovered the technology’s utility in the broader circuit manufacturing process
· Tech in Photon Systems’ spectroscopy tool for Perseverance is being tested for use in pharmaceuticals, food processing, and wastewater management
More and more companies are building for space
For Perseverance, Maxar Technologies built a robotic arm to scoop samples, Northrop Grumman built navigational sensors, and drone company AeroVironment helped build the rover’s onboard helicopter.
Just this week, Axiom Space raised $130m to build the first commercial space station, while SpaceX raised $850m to fund future missions.
As space travel and exploration have become more popular, other companies have specialized in building anything from wrenches for astronauts to zero-gravity espresso machines for the ISS.
But most money is in the ‘space-for-earth’ business
Known as the space-for-earth economy, goods and services sent to space for use on Earth -- including for telecommunications, Earth observation, and national security -- made up 95% of the $366B in 2019 space sector revenues.
But as costs decrease and successful missions attract new entrants, expect both the space-for-earth and space-for-space economies to scale up.
For now, the Perseverance rover’s clearest immediate impact on Earth is, without a doubt, limited edition Krispy Kreme Mars doughnuts.
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February 19, 2021
With Christ
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3)
The apostle Paul, looking forward to the time when we shall “ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17), wrote: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:23-24).
The fact is, however, that we can be “with Christ” even while still abiding in the flesh, as Paul himself emphasized. This is the great principle called positional truth. “Positionally,” we are already “with Christ,” for that is where God sees us and how He relates to us. He has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).
Before we could be raised up with Christ, however, we first had to die with Him. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). God even saw us as buried with Christ when He was buried, and this is the great truth symbolized in our baptism. “We are buried with him by baptism into death” (Romans 6:4).
“Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more” (Romans 6:8-9). He died for us, so our deserved death became His substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection becomes our own unmerited deliverance from death in eternal resurrection life. This is our position now, and our assured everlasting possession then, for we are with Christ, who “dieth no more.”
This truth is not only a wonderful doctrine, but as we see in our text, a focus for our thoughts, and real incentive for godly living. HMM
https://youtu.be/bHiky48GiiU
https://thehustle.co/%f0%9f%9a%80-how-mars-led-to-tech-innovation/