Funding long-duration manned space flight is directly funding green technology. Technologies developed for many of the long-duration space flights has made green technology possible. Examples of these green technologies are fuel cells and solar panels. One of the earliest uses for fuel cells was in the Gemini series spacecraft, which were first launched in 1965. The Gemini spacecraft had two fuel cells on-board to power the vessel. The Apollo command module also developed and utilized green technology; it carried three fuel cells and relied heavily on them to power the primary guidance and navigation and control system, as well as thrusters, cabin heaters and other critical systems. Fuel cell technology was improved numerous times during the development of these vehicles. Every component needed to run at the highest efficiency possible. For every additional pound the space capsule weighed, the rocket burned at least 200 more pounds of fuel. Moreover, other technologies required for long-duration flights, such as solar panels, have been continuously improved by NASA and other space contractors to attain peak efficiency from the components. One testament to this is the Orion Crew Module, which will replace the shuttle and may go to the moon. The Orion is similar in basic design and appearance to the Apollo command module; however, the Orion relies mainly on solar panels for power and uses fuel cells for backup.

Other green technologies have been developed for long-duration space flight as well. One such technology is Aeroponics, which allows plants to grow without soil and faster than traditional soil-based methods. Since, a key part of long-duration and long-stay missions is conservation of resources, waste management and processing have also been greatly improved. Many technologies for both biological and inorganic waste management have been created, especially for long-stay missions such as moon and Mars bases. Ways of recycling water and waste in order to reuse as much as possible have been researched and tested for these missions. Space flight has also assisted in medical research. The first artificial heart used in human surgery was based on the turbo-pumps used to power the Saturn series rocket engines.

The problem with current green technology is not the technology itself, but that implementing it would require a change in infrastructure. One prime example is hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen fuel can be used for a variety of technologies, such as fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen combustion vehicles. However, the United States currently has an infrastructure for oil-based fuels only. These fuels include gasoline and diesel. To create an infrastructure capable of providing service similar to the current oil-based system, it would require billions of dollars and potentially decades to finish, depending on funding. Technology is not the problem. Anyone can order a toy car that runs on a fuel cell for about $60. The economics of a massive technology switch is the problem.

Even with all these benefits, many people still don’t understand why we should go back to the moon instead of a different planet. The main problem with this is that manned missions have not passed beyond low Earth orbit since funding for the Apollo program was cut in 1972. The moon provides an optimal place to test technologies and procedures that have not been performed in nearly 40 years. Skipping this step and going straight to Mars would be like running track in the Olympics but only training by running to catch the bus. In addition, many of the engineers at NASA have specialized in spacecraft system design or related fields. They are the best and brightest at what they do. That does not mean they can perform in other careers or positions with equal success. This would be similar to re-assigning one of the best English professors at ISU to the physics department and expecting him or her to be better than the other physics professors.

Finally, I leave you with a quote from the “Apollo 13” movie: “Imagine if Christopher Columbus came back from the New World, and no one returned in his footsteps.” — Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell in “Apollo 13” (1995). It’s not that we should “just” go back to the moon or even that we would learn anything new — we need to go back.

Jordan Thistle is a senior in aerospace engineering.