These are heady times for Oxfordshire space scientists. This month they waved goodbye to Miri, a pioneering camera and spectrometer, which left Harwell's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory for the United States, where it will be launched into space to explore the far reaches of the universe.

Part of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, planned to replace the Hubble space telescope in 2018, it will explore the formation of planets around distant stars.

But as astronomers look for life on Mars, here on Earth Oxfordshire businesses are aiming to turn space science into money-spinning ideas.

With the economy apparently mired in low or zero growth, outer space is the one bright light on the horizon.

Just as the expensive high-tech research for Formula 1 motor racing has sparked innovations in the car industry, space science has revolutionised fields such as telecoms, climate and weather forecasting, security and navigation.

In the UK, the space industry has managed to grow right through the recession and Oxfordshire has already benefited.

Last year the International Space Innovation Centre arrived at Harwell, and the European Space Agency's incubation centre now has ten start-up companies, each aiming to translate cutting-edge space science into a profitable business.

The technologies range from a portable X-ray machine not much bigger than a laptop to a GPS system to locate sub-aqua divers lost in the ocean.

Each company at the centre is offered 40 hours of science or business support, plus a £41,500 grant.

The X-ray machine is being developed by Radius Technology, whose founder Mark Evans said: “The current vaccuum-tube technology is outmoded. It has not moved on for 100 years and what we are doing is putting it in the new world, so that an X-ray machine can be produced in the same way as your flat TV screen.”

The company won 30,000 euros in the Civica European Venture Contest (CEVC) awards, given for companies with the potential to dramatically impact their industry and contribute to increasing European competitiveness and growth. It now aims to raise £2.5m to put the product on the market by March 2015.

Mr Evans wants to bring “proper high-volume manufacturing back to the UK, using high-end science”. He also has a base in California, and says it is easier to find government and private funding there.

“Britain does some very good science and engineering, but without the level of investment to commercialise it. This incubation centre is creating a pathway towards that.”

Mr Evans is also co-founder of another company at the centre, Oxford Nanosystems. Its business plan for a new heat exchanger for domestic boilers won two competitions at the Saïd Business School, and its team includes two current Oxford MBA students, Roy Amin and Jon Horbaly, both from the US.

The founders — Mr Evans, chartered surveyor Jason Tyrrell and aeronautical engineer Lawrence Price — believe domestic boilers are another area where 21st-century science can improve performance.

Mr Amin said: “A lot of the designs in domestic boilers are 20 years old.”

They will incorporate a new material using nanotechnology research from Oxford University and believe the UK and European markets will welcome a low-carbon innovation that promises to save energy for consumers as well as manufacturers. The new material also reduces limescale and rust, improving reliability.

Mr Amin added: “We also have interest from a Formula 1 team which wants to test it to use with their cooling systems.”

Another of the centre's tenants is Keith Geary, of G2Way, who is incorporating space science into an infra-red camera system for farmers. The camera is mounted on a remote-controlled plane, with foam wings.

Mr Geary has enlisted Julian Gold, a farmer from nearby East Hendred, to test the system to survey his crops for pest damage or other problems. Mr Geary said: “Farmers would buy it from their local dealer, as they do other agricultural equipment and fly it themselves.”

Satnav systems using space satellites have revolutionised life for lorry and car drivers, and several tenants at the centre are aiming to commercialise this for other markets.

Peter Hall, a keen sailor, has linked up with former Marconi colleague Christine Edwards to form a company called Sci-tech POB, developing a device that links with boat navigation systems to locate sub-aqua divers in the ocean.

Narrowboat enthusiast Mike Kelly has developed a smartphone application called E-Canal to help boaters on inland waterways, while former telecoms executive Mark Habgood is developing a program called InstantView to help the insurance industry by allowing anyone involved in an accident to record information on their smartphone. The system automatically brings together information from the accident scene which, in-turn, improves claim processing and combats fraud.

The Government has high hopes for the space industry. By 2030, it aims to take the UK from six per cent of the global market to ten per cent, creating up to 100,000 high-tech jobs.

Now Harwell is waiting to hear if it will be the site of the next ‘Catapult’ technology and innovation centre, developing new space applications, with £20m funding, matched by private investment and grants.

The Government's Technology Strategy Board is expected to make an announcement in the next few months. If Harwell is chosen, the future could be even more starry.