Space exploration has created new markets and new technologies that have spurred our economy and changed our lives in many ways. In this activity, you will learn how space travel affects our everyday lives.

It is easy for people in the 21st century to take space for granted. It is just part of our everyday lives. Shuttle launches and the construction of the International Space Station barely make the news. But it wasn't always this way. To anyone born before the 1950s, space flight was as new and exciting to them as the invention of the light bulb was to an earlier generation. Every launch and recovery was covered in depth on the news. Most people that are old enough to remember can tell you where they were when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. It was new, and it was exciting. New inventions were entering everyone's lives because of the space race. But how does all of this affect us today? One of the ways that we take for granted is communication through the use of satellites.

Satellites used to be completely under control of governments. But, over time, they began to be used to help the public. We now use satellites to talk to one another, to broadcast television events from around the world, and to pass information around the world in a matter of seconds.

 

One great example of how satellites can help the public is when a high school wildlife course was offered in Edson, Alberta, to students in early 2008. It was a videoconference course, and it was being taught to local students in southern Saskatchewan, and also students in Arviat, Nunavut.

The students in Arviat received the videoconference signal in a unique fashion. It went from Edson to Winnipeg by landline, was transmitted to a satellite, and then the school in Arviat received the signal from the satellite. When they spoke to the hosts in Edson, the signal went in the exact opposite direction. Without satellite communication, this would never have been possible!

@creativecommons

 

What does the future hold for satellites and communications? It is already happening. Instead of just talking on the phone, you can see each other on your phone while you talk with apps like FaceTime.  As the system is perfected, this will become common place all over the world. As technology gets better, communications around the world will continue to improve, truly making our planet seem smaller and smaller.

@pexels