264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1961 



SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE 



Space research is a vigorously expanding field, whose growth is 

 comparable to the development of nuclear physics after World War II. 

 It is a field which cuts across the established areas of astronomy and 

 physics and the earth sciences, and draws together scientists of varied 

 backgrounds. The close interaction and exchange of ideas among 

 scientists from many different fields have proved to be highly 

 stimulating. 



One of the goals of the NASA scientific program involves lunar 

 exploration, manned and unmanned. From the scientific standpoint, 

 exploration of the moon is of great importance. The moon may hold 

 the answers to some of the key questions in science. How was the 

 solar system created? How did it develop and change? Where 

 did life originate? The moon is devoid of atmosphere in the ter- 

 restrial sense. Having neither winds nor rains, its surface is almost 

 changeless. Thus the moon offers scientists a chance to study the 

 very early matter of the solar system in practically the form in which 

 it existed billions of years ago. 



The great volume of United States research in the space sciences 

 demonstrates the intense interest of American scientists. Data flow- 

 ing into astronomy and the earth sciences from United States space 

 experiments are providing significantly new ideas and concepts to 

 these traditional disciplines. 



DIRECT APPLICATIONS 



Space itself, when instrumented by man, will provide system capa- 

 bilities not previously possible. Early returns from NASA experi- 

 ments are already leading to early implementation of communications 

 and meteorological satellite systems. 



In 1960 NASA's Echo I passive communications satellite appealed 

 to the world's imagination. The huge aluminized plastic sphere has 

 been seen by people in many countries. Echo proved that it is pos- 

 sible to commmiicate between distant areas on the earth by reflecting 

 radio signals from a satellite. 



Private companies have shown interest both in the Echo concept 

 and in "repeater" satellites that can receive messages at one point 

 over the earth's surface and retransmit them to ground receiving sta- 

 tions thousands of miles distant. Satellite communications will make 

 worldwide telephone and television services realities and will accom- 

 modate growth of global conmiunications. This enhanced communi- 

 cation could well be a bond drawing people of the world closer 

 together. 



NASA's Tiros series of satellites has demonstrated the possibilities 

 of vastly more accurate and longer-range weather forecasting. Tiros 



