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In the weeks to come, there will be debate about the future of the Space Program and of the International Space Station. When shuttle Challenger exploded about one minute after liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986, there was a 32-month moratorium on flights until an investigation was complete. Saturday's loss might stall Space Station construction which is scheduled for completion in 2004, including a host of crucial activity planned for this year.

But ask any astronaut, scientist or astronomer and one thing is certain: Sending humans with the Right Stuff into space is absolutely crucial to humanity worldwide - and it must continue.

"We never say anything about stopping scientists from exploring the ocean floor, or from investigating active volcanos," said Franklin Institute astronomer Derek Pitts.

"I consider that far more dangerous than space travel."

The doomed 16-day Columbia mission focused on experiments in microgravity, using a host of laboratory animals, and the astronauts themselves, to study the effects of weightlessness on tissue regeneration and muscle and bone loss, or osteoporosis. Experiments were also conducted to lend insight into the human immune system as well as crystal growth, which could be used to store hydrogen as an alternative to petroleum.

Here is a look at a few of the myriad ways human space travel and its research and discovery have already touched human life on Earth:

In Hospitals

• In January 1992, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new surgery derived from laser technology pioneered by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The laser was designed for remote sensing of earth's ozone layer, and now works as an alternative to heart bypass or angioplasty surgery.

• Ever hear of a CAT scan or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)? In the mid-1960's, as NASA prepared for its Apollo moon landing program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) developed the technology to computer-enhance moon photos.

• Technology used to study space probe photos sent back to Earth is now used to analyze human chromosomes to detect abnormalities, and could lead to disease prediction in infants.

"One of the reasons we need to be up there," said Michael Zey, a business professor at Montclair State University in Montclair N.J. and author of The Future Factor, "Is that from a utilitarian point of view, the spin offs from experimentations in weightlessness are crucial. All of the biological studies are for the extension of the human species."
In Homes

• In the 1970's, NASA needed a smoke and fire detector for Skylab, America's first space station. Honeywell, Inc. developed the unit for NASA, and soon the benefits of smoke detectors became obvious for residential use and are now required by law.

• During the Apollo program, NASA developed a system to sterilize the astronauts' drinking water, using ions to filter water. Today there are under-the-sink systems in many homes modeled after this concept.

• Own a cordless drill or other cordless tool? Thank the Apollo program. When astronauts needed a way to drill beneath the moon's surface up to 10 feet to collect core samples, they required small, lightweight and battery-powered drills. NASA chose the Black and Decker company and the rest is history.
Believe it or Not

• In the 1980s, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory researched material to filter out harmful light.
It led to the development of sunglasses that block blue, violet and ultraviolet light that could hurt the eyes. (Another NASA division came up with scratch-resistant lenses.)

• The NASA Jet propulsion laboratory developed computer-enhanced images of the moonscape to assess crater depth or boulder height.
Cosmetics companies use related software to take before and after pictures of skin, to see how well moisturizers or anti-wrinkle creams work.

In the Environment

• NASA satellite remote-sensing technology has helped locate and map forest fires. The latest imaging system, Firely, was developed in 1993, according to NASA.

• NASA played a tremendous role in developing satellite TV transmission technology. Telephone signals, computer data, and computer images are also beamed around the world via satellite. Commercial space communications systems evolved from high-risk technology developed and tested in orbit by NASA in the 1960s and 1970s.

"Human space flight definitely has to continue," said native West Philadelphian Guion S. Bluford, a retired NASA mission specialist and flight engineer who become the first NASA African-American in space in 1983. "We have to finish the Space Station."