Latest government funding for space will provide benefits on Earth

The Government's latest round of funding for UK Space Agency projects appears to be focussed on the development of technologies that can have on-Earth benefits as well as supporting exploration of space.

Reading the line up of the projects, from micro-reactors to water-purification and LIDAR to drilling, the benefits that new technologies arising from these projects could have for a range of terrestrial activities is clear.

It is also clear, from the press release, that the government's focus on these cross-over opportunities is entirely intentional. Presumably this is because the resulting innovations may have better potential for domestic commercialisation and therefore economic growth.  

The potential for utilisation of the resulting innovations on the ground may also provide other benefits. For one thing, it may help in solving the dilemma faced by space innovation organisations regarding whether it is worthwhile seeking patent protection for technologies to be used in space.  

The ambiguity around how existing patent laws apply to technologies used in space can lead organisations operating in this field to opine that patent protection may not be worthwhile. But if the the technologies being developed are equally as valuable on Earth, where patent law is very much defined, then such ambiguity is dispelled and the conventional benefits of patent protection to attract investors and to carve out a place in the market hold up.