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This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum.
Author: Kristof Terryn, Group Chief Operating Officer, Member of the Executive Committee, Zurich Insurance Group
Almost exactly 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon. This remarkable achievement had been unimaginable only years before and has been surpassed by few endeavours since. It is also testament to what is possible through public-private collaboration.
During the 1960s, roughly 90% of NASA’s overall budget was used to purchase goods and services from the private sector. Businesses literally powered man to the moon; North American Aviation built Apollo 11’s Saturn V rocket. Protection against the many complex risks of space travel was just as vital. Goodyear Aerospace regulated engine temperatures operating at almost 3,300˚C. Meanwhile, ILC Dover created spacesuits which protected against the moon’s extreme temperature variations. Without these technologies, space travel would never have been viable.
Today, half a century on from Apollo 11, technology developed for the programme is used in…
