Quote:
Originally Posted by iansales  [...]The thing is, the standard justifications for manned space exploration don't bear scrutiny. Technological benefits? Well, Apollo gave us... velcro... and teflon. [...] |
OK, this is a common misconception - neither velcro or teflon were products of the Apollo missions.
However the following are spinoffs from the manned space programmes:-
- Improved Kidney Dialysis machines
- Cat Scanners
- Design and manufacture of sports shoes
- Water purification technology
- Cordless power tools
- Self righting life rafts
- Barcoding
- Ionising Smoke detectors
- Improved Cardiac Pacemakers
- Scratch resistant glasses
- Freeze-dried foods
- Enriched Baby food
- Infrared ear thermometers
- Quartz Clocks
Back to big mistakes in SF... In the first edition of Ringworld, Larry Niven had the Earth rotating the wrong way, with Louis Wu travelling from west to east to prolong his 200th Birthday. This was corrected in later editions, making the first edition extremely collectible.