Janet Murphy, age 11, of Louisville,Kentucky, for her question:

Does space exploration affect our lives?

You can bet your boots that space exploration affects our lives. Our space program was possible because teams of scientists were trained to work together as never before. All sorts of creative inventions were bound to occur when so many bright people put their heads together. Of course, they solved the main problems such as orbiting satellites and lunar landings. However, whenever people solve a gigantic problem, in some strange way a number of other problems get themselves solved along the way.

The space program required special metals and plastics, capsule designs for new instruments and equipment. These items were created to withstand the stresses of space    but they also proved useful on earth. Space biology added a lot of new data on diet and medicine. Space exploration the miniaturization of electronic components which made possible the numerous tools and gadgets in our lives today.  Earth orbiting satellites were equipped to survey our weather and provide simplified global communications at low cost. The list of benefits is longer than your arm.  More importantly it motivates us to continue to explore the unknown here on earth and search for new knowledge that will benefit all mankind! These offshoots of space exploration affect our lives    so please, let's offer a vote of thanks.