Discover NASA Technology in Your Life

Have you ever wondered how space exploration impacts you?

“Spinoffs” are products and services developed from NASA technology or improved

through NASA partnerships. These innovations—first created to help explore space

and study Earth—are responsible for billions of dollars in both revenue and

saved costs, tens of thousands of jobs created, and for changing the world

around us.

Our NASA

Home & City interactive web platform allows you to explore some

of the spinoff technologies you can find in your everyday life, demonstrating

the wider benefits of America’s investments in its space program.

Here are the seven most unexpected items you can find in your homes

and cities which were “spun off” from technologies to enable the study and

exploration of space.

1.

Wireless

Headsets

“That’s one small step for man, one

giant leap for mankind.”

On July 20, 1969, millions were glued to their television sets when NASA

astronaut Neil Armstrong offered these famous words via live broadcast, upon

becoming the first man to ever step foot on the Moon. This historic

transmission was delivered from Armstrong’s headset to the headsets of Mission

Control personnel at NASA, and then on to the world.

Improved by the technology that

carried Neil Armstrong’s words, more compact and comfortable headsets were

developed for airline pilots in the 1960s and ‘70s. Today those advancements

continue to evolve in all forms of communications and telephone equipment. Mobile

headsets provide greater efficiency and flexibility for everyone

from professionals to video gamers.

2. Water Quality

Monitoring

On the International Space Station

very little goes to waste. This includes water, which is recovered from every

possible source, cleaned and recycled.

Following our development of a

simplified bacteria test for water quality on the space station, one engineer

created a foundation to distribute test kits suitable for use in rural

communities around the world. Water contamination is still a major problem in

many places, and the test helps local communities and governments obtain and

share water quality data using a smartphone app.

3. Skin Cream

We know that on Earth, gravity is a constant. For astronauts in

orbit, however, it’s a different story—and according to a

scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, studying what happens to

bodies in microgravity “can lead to significant new discoveries in human

biology for the benefit of humankind.”

As our researchers experimented with

replicating microgravity conditions in the lab, they invented a bioreactor that

could help simulate conditions that human cells experience in a space-like

environment. This allowed them to perform tissue-growth experiments on the

ground and in space, and eventually, to consider the question of how to protect

human cells from the toxic effects of long-duration space missions.

Now, thanks to this NASA-patented

bioreactor, one company uses agents from human cells that produce collagen to

enrich its skin cream

products. Lab tests have shown the rejuvenating cream to increase skin moisture

content by 76 percent and reduce darkness and wrinkles by more than 50 percent.

4. Acoustic

Guitars

From its start, NASA has innovated in all

branches of aeronautics, which has led to numerous advances in helicopters,

including ways to limit vibrations as they fly and advanced composites to build

tougher, safer vehicles. 

An industrious helicopter manufacturer that

built up its expertise with NASA contracts later used the same special

vibration analysis equipment to enhance the sound of acoustic

guitars. The company also built the body out of a fiberglass

composite used for rotor blades. The resulting instruments are stronger and

less expensive to produce than those of traditional rosewood and produce a

rich, full sound.

5. Tiny

[Mobile] Homes

While the International Space Station is the

largest spacecraft ever flown—it’s about the size of a football field—living

and working space for astronauts is still at a premium. NASA created a studio

called the Habitability Design Center to experiment with the interior design of

spacecraft to maximize usable space and make scientific research as efficient

and effective as possible.

An architect who helped NASA design the

interior of the International Space Station launched a company specializing in compact

trailers for camping and exploration. Suitable for a full hookup

campsite or going completely off-grid, the company’s flagship trailer can

accommodate two adults and two children for sleeping and can be customized with

a range of features including a shower, refrigerator, toilet, and more. And it

all fits into a unit light enough to be towed by a four-cylinder car.

6. Blue Light

Blocking Ski Goggles

Skiers and snowboarders face extremely bright sunlight, especially

when it’s reflected off the white snow. That can make it hard to see, and not

just because of glare. The blue in sunlight makes it more difficult to discern

colors at the edge of the visible light spectrum, like reds. A NASA-designed

filter used in snow goggles helps block up to 95 percent of blue

light, making it easier for people on the slopes to see the terrain clearly.

7. Implants

for the Hearing Impaired

Hearing aids, which make sound louder,

can only do so much for those who were born or have become deaf. Cochlear

implants work in a completely different way, converting sound into

digital signals that can be processed by the brain.  And the technology

traces back in part to a NASA space shuttle engineer who used skills in

electronics instrumentation and his own experiences with hearing loss to

develop an early version of the life-changing device.

These

are just a few examples of thousands of NASA Spinoff

and dual-purpose technologies benefiting the world around us. 

Trace space back to you and

visit NASA Home and City today!

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