Three Reasons We All Need Space

Earlier this year, a few spaceflights sent a handful of humans where Earth and space meet. But the space industry isn’t just for a select few – and we can’t allow it to be. Momentum is essential to keep the playing field open, and inclusivity in space is equally as important as it is here on Earth.

1. Helps Address Climate Change?

I haven't personally seen the view of Earth from space, but I know you don't have to fly there to get a good glimpse. NASA's?critical role?in climate change observation and Earth science research uses tools like the Lockheed Martin-built?Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera?(EPIC) to provide scientists with a brand new broad view of the planet's atmosphere at work. Farmers can also use?GPS satellite technology?with precision agriculture to enhance farming operations and help address growing food security issues. Water is another critical piece to the climate equation and the future of space tourism. Lockheed Martin is currently?collaborating with NASA?to develop cornerstone technology that supports long-term, large-scale cryogenic storage and transfer in space – and could also benefit parts of our planet struggling with water scarcity, further highlighting the interconnectedness of space missions and our world.?

We're also working on a better way to monitor our planet's health using a first-of-its-kind Earth observation mission called the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb). GeoCarb?– which is a collaboration between NASA, Lockheed Martin and the University of Oklahoma – will study in unprecedented detail how the Earth breathes. It will observe how the carbon cycle is changing and monitor plant health in the Americas with millions of daily observations. This information can give scientists better insight into our world and how we can best support and preserve it.?

2. Goes Beyond the Mission

Suppose you’re using an app to find the best restaurant, feed your parking meter without running outside, or find real-time shortcuts to get around traffic. In all of these scenarios, you’re saving time (invaluable savings might I add) and finding the best food in town using GPS satellite technology initially built for U.S. military use. Going beyond the mission looks like this, and most missions like technology have a good back story of how it all started and where it is today. Take a look at the latest?electric vehicle (EV)?on the market leveraging GPS technology for navigation and now autonomous driving, but these cars had a very different story?more than 100 years ago. At its inception, EVs were paused due to affordability issues, and the horse remained the primary mode of transportation. As electricity became more widely available – circa 1911 – the EV interest grew, but still, the model T outpaced it for low-cost production reasons. What happened with EVs is a cautionary tale, but the Artemis generation can learn from this and continue making needed investments to push past boundaries by deploying more missions.

3. Grows a New Economy?

With the backdrop of the pandemic,?four nations defied global circumstances?–?Ethiopia,?Gabon,?South Africa, and the?UAE?– and increased space spending by 40%. The space industry's?job market?in the U.S. is up 5% since 2019, and the European space nations’ workforce has increased by 42% in the last decade. Through global collaboration, we can pursue a circular economy of space and leave behind the typical linear economic models of Earth (produce, use, and dispose) and shift to making, using, and recovering as much value as possible to redistribute to a previous part of the supply chain for reuse. Disrupting the linear supply chain model could create a vibrant multi-layered space sector and a supply chain that feeds back into the circular economy.?

How can we jump start this? For starters, capturing data and insight will play a key role. At Lockheed Martin, we’ve created a digital thread by investing in 5G networking, cyber, and hybrid-cloud infrastructure to name a few, and together this digital thread opens the door to finding possible reuse within our supply chain through flexible and adaptable digital platforms.?

Who is Space For??

We must get out in front of an elitist space narrative since our history of space missions over half a century proves otherwise by providing all the global benefits we see today. Supporting a growing space economy together is key to providing access to possibilities for future generations to come.

How does space help you??