posted 03-18-2010 02:07 PM               

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Today, I submitted an idea that I believe in and I think might be of the interest to our site's members.

Provide the public with spent NASA hardware

With the space shuttle program coming to a close, NASA and its contractors are being faced with disposing of hundreds of thousands of piece parts that flew in space and were used by the program. While the larger, intact equipment can and should be passed to museums as artifacts, rather than release the remainder as scrap (as has been the practice to date), NASA should develop an outreach program whereby teachers, students and the general public can request and obtain space-flown and ground support NASA hardware. Tactile exposure to space artifacts can be a means of encouraging education about space history as well as a sense of (literal and figurative) ownership of the space program. Space memorabilia collectors located worldwide are already among NASA's greatest advocates. Expanding their number can only be beneficial to keeping the public engaged, especially within communities outside the reach of space museums and NASA centers.