How International Space Station benefits humanity, NASA explains

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Space is full of exciting objects, most of which are still undiscovered. Scientists and researchers keep on trying to find and explore something new. The International Space Station too helps in the same. The Space Station is used for studies and experiments and now NASA has explained the ways in which the International Space Station is benefiting humanity back on Earth. "With more than 20 years of experiments now conducted on the station, more breakthroughs are materializing than ever before," NASA said in a report. Here are 5 ways in which the space station is benefiting humanity.

1. Producing the next generation of medical scanning technology: According to NASA, in their quest to study neutron stars, the team behind the NICER telescope created and patented an X-ray source that could be turned on and off very quickly. This also happened to be what a neuroradiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital needed for his quest to improve CT scans. The Massachusetts General Hospital and NICER teams worked together to create a stationary ring of these small new modulated X-ray sources that can be mounted around the patient, firing when needed. This technique can decrease the amount of radiation the patient is exposed to and enable a better image quality even at the lower radiation level. Limiting radiation exposure is helpful for patients on Earth now and potentially for future astronauts on their way to Mars. The device has been patented, and additional work is now underway to take it from a prototype to a testable device.

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2. Creating new drugs for disorders like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: An International Space Station study of the crystal structure of a