How we can use space technology to improve life on Earth | Danielle Wood
TED Talks Daily
TED
4.1 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 1 February 2018
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
Danielle Wood leads the Space Enabled research group at the MIT Media Lab, where she works to tear down the barriers that limit the benefits of space exploration to only the few, the rich or the elite. She identifies six technologies developed for space exploration that can contribute to sustainable development across the world -- from observation satellites that provide information to aid organizations to medical research on microgravity that can be used to improve health care on Earth. "Space truly is useful for sustainable development for the benefit of all peoples," Wood says.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This TED Talk features engineer and policy researcher Danielle Wood, recorded live at TEDNYC 2017. |
| 0:09.6 | I was 17 when I chose my career. I was standing outside on a hot summer night in Florida and just a few miles from the ocean. |
| 0:23.6 | I was waiting for a miracle to happen. |
| 0:28.6 | That summer, I was privileged to work as an intern |
| 0:32.6 | at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, |
| 0:34.6 | and the miracle I was waiting for was the launch of the Columbia Space Shuttle |
| 0:40.4 | carrying the Shandra X-ray Observatory, |
| 0:44.9 | a telescope that would allow scientists to peer |
| 0:48.6 | into the edge of black holes. |
| 0:52.1 | The entire sky filled with light. |
| 0:56.5 | And it was as if it was daytime in the middle of the night. |
| 1:00.6 | Soon we could feel the rumble of the engines vibrating in our chests. |
| 1:05.5 | And it wasn't a miracle. |
| 1:07.8 | It was the combined effort of a team of thousands of people |
| 1:11.1 | who worked together to make what seemed impossible a reality. |
| 1:17.2 | And I wanted to join that team. |
| 1:22.1 | So I decided to apply to a university |
| 1:24.4 | where I could study aerospace engineering. |
| 1:27.0 | And the following year, I started at MIT with my engineering training |
| 1:30.4 | and joined a student project building space robots. |
| 1:34.4 | And everything was going as I planned. |
| 1:37.2 | Except I was confused about something important. |
... |
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