How Innovation in Space Improves Life on Earth

In this series, professionals predict the ideas and trends that will shape 2016. Read the posts here, then write your own (use #BigIdeas2016 in your piece).

Earlier this year, millions of people traveled to Mars -- at least for a couple of hours. That's because they saw the movie The Martian, which tells the story of a stranded astronaut who uses science, engineering and ingenuity to survive for more than a year on the Red Planet.

I loved the movie. And I was especially pleased because the future the film depicts is inspired by technology Lockheed Martin is developing right now.

Our company is proud to have served the U.S. space program since its inception. Now Lockheed Martin is building the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which will take men and women beyond the Moon to asteroids and someday to Mars.

Orion will propel humanity into a bold new era of discovery. Yet, this new era isn’t just exciting because of what's happening above us. Space is the place in which we can realize our fullest potential on Earth.

Ever since humans have been exploring space, the technologies we've developed have made their way back into our daily lives. From memory foam to infrared ear thermometers to airplane de-icing systems to GPS, space technologies are with us every day. And our new generation of space exploration is already leading to important advances that have applications on Earth.

Orion's life support systems are being used to protect deep-sea divers working in some of the most extreme, dangerous situations. Advanced manufacturing techniques, pioneered by Orion engineers, have created customizable nanotubes that can make body armor stronger and lighting more energy-efficient. Orion has even led to the creation of a solar device that charges batteries faster than ever.

Satellite technology has also revolutionized our lives. In the decades ahead, satellites like Lockheed Martin's GOES-R, will give us new and vital insights into areas like water conservation, weather prediction, and emergency disaster relief. Other satellites, like the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), will strengthen our missile defense, communication, and intelligence capabilities. And of course, this technology also enables each of us to carry a whole world of information right in our pockets. When you use your smartphone to look up directions for a new restaurant or video call a friend halfway across the globe, you're tapping into the benefits of decades of space exploration.

In these ways and many more, our work in space expands our horizons on Earth. It makes us safer. It creates new products, new kinds of jobs, and can even unlock entire new industries.

Innovations like these can’t be taken for granted. They need long-term investment to flourish. And that investment requires more than research and development dollars. If we are to push the boundaries of human progress, we must invest in our human capital. Because innovation is about ideas, and ideas depend on people.

Fifty years ago, our nation made a financial and philosophical commitment to develop the technology to take us to the moon. That commitment came with a renewed focus on education, which helped foster a generation of scientists and engineers who shaped the world we live in today.

Our deep-space missions now offer us the chance to inspire the next generation of innovators and explorers. That’s an opportunity we should seize, and there isn't a moment to waste. Right now we face a global shortage of qualified candidates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics -- the critical STEM disciplines. According to one recent report by the consulting firm FSG, recruiters for U.S. companies have had hiring difficulties for 75 percent of the jobs that require medium-to-high-level STEM abilities. 

At Lockheed Martin, we've seen the power of space to begin reversing this trend. In Colorado Springs, for instance, we sponsor a Space Education Center that provides resources for students and teachers across the country. The program comes with equipment and hardware for STEM programs, scholarships for field trips, 'virtual' visits to space-based facilities and labs, and support for teacher development programs. The center even includes the largest Mars Robotics Laboratory in the world. The students love it -- and the country needs it. Maybe some of these students will grow up to be scientists who bring the secrets of deep space down to Earth.

This is the great opportunity we must seize in 2016 and beyond. Because when we propel ourselves towards the promise of space, we also propel the next generation towards the promise of their future -- and unlock incredible new possibilities for all of us here on Earth.