REAL LIFE NEWS: MARS ROVER TECHNOLOGY DETECTS GAS ON EARTH
by Hazed
An instrument that was designed for Curiosity so it could detect methane on the surface of Mars has been adapted for Earthly use. It’s being incorporated into a device to check for gas leaks.
Much of the natural gas on Earth contains methane, so the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California is working with the Jet Propulsion Lab to create a hand-held instrument that can track down gas leaks fast so they can be repaired before they become dangerous.
The detector should be available for use this year, and is part of an effort to cut down leaks from gas pipelines, in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane. It will also improve safety for the PG&E, which was recently fined $1.4 million after a pieline in San Bruno exploded and killed eight people.
“Our pursuit of this technology is evidence of our commitment to our mission of becoming the safest, most reliable utility in the country,” said Nick Stavropoulos, PG&E’s executive vice president of gas operations. “We are using out-of-this-world technology to find and fix even the smallest leaks in our system.”
So next time somebody moans that space exploration is a waste of money that doesn’t offer any benefit to Earthlings, here is one more thing you can show them to refute that claim.
