These investments can bolster existing efforts in each area and also lead to new innovations that will ultimately not just be measured on their financial return, but on their double or triple bottom lines.
Trash tiles could, for example, bolster the space radiation shielding around the astronauts' sleeping quarters or perhaps a small area in the spacecraft that would be built up to serve as a storm shelter to protect crews from solar flare effects, NASA officials said.
Love them or hate them (or love to hate them), the TV special may bolster their reputations (not to mention their brands) when they might have been criticized for leaving the area a little worse for wear.