We all know NASA ‘developed’ the Space Pen and Tang, but here are a few other things they developed you might not consider… 🙂
You can click on the full size link to see the actual products, with the exception of the iPad app…
1. Personal lubricant
Maybe you thought they called it Astroglide because it makes you feel like a star. But no. The clear, water-based lubricant was developed by an engineer named Dan Wray while he was working on the space shuttle’s cooling systems at Edwards Air Force Base in 1977. (Oddly enough, this example isn’t mentioned in NASA’s own list of consumer products based on the agency’s tech, and Astroglide’s own website has dropped all mention of NASA recently, although it’s mentioned on tons of other sites.)
Maybe you thought they called it Astroglide because it makes you feel like a star. But no. The clear, water-based lubricant was developed by an engineer named Dan Wray while he was working on the space shuttle’s cooling systems at Edwards Air Force Base in 1977. (Oddly enough, this example isn’t mentioned in NASA’s own list of consumer products based on the agency’s tech, and Astroglide’s own website has dropped all mention of NASA recently, although it’s mentioned on tons of other sites.)
2. An iPad App that can identify your location down to the centimeter
You can already download this app — it’s called Ball Invasion, and it lets you shoot at balls that are hidden in the real world, in a particularly excellent form of augmented reality. The game was developed by a Swedish startup called 13th Lab, using a NASA technology called Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) that creates a 3-D map of the local environment and calculates your position in it. The technology was originally developed to help robots navigate, but 13th Lab was able to make it work using just an iPad’s camera and other sensors. [via PopSci]
You can already download this app — it’s called Ball Invasion, and it lets you shoot at balls that are hidden in the real world, in a particularly excellent form of augmented reality. The game was developed by a Swedish startup called 13th Lab, using a NASA technology called Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) that creates a 3-D map of the local environment and calculates your position in it. The technology was originally developed to help robots navigate, but 13th Lab was able to make it work using just an iPad’s camera and other sensors. [via PopSci]
3. Using flowers for Sewage treatment
Waste treatment and recycling of water has been a major concern for NASA for decades, understandably — leading to the creation of NASA’s Vascular Aquatic Plant Research Program. NASA researcher Bill Wolverton discovered that the water hyacinth, a weed that’s super common throughout the Southern U.S., soaks up sewage, including hard-to-handle large pieces. The water hyacinth also soaks up heavy metals and other organic compounds from water. This miraculous process is due to tiny bacteria that live on the plant’s root hairs, which break down the sewage into nutrients that the plant can absorb. Now, towns throughout the South are using water hyacinth lagoons to purify their wastewater. [via HowStuffWorks]
Waste treatment and recycling of water has been a major concern for NASA for decades, understandably — leading to the creation of NASA’s Vascular Aquatic Plant Research Program. NASA researcher Bill Wolverton discovered that the water hyacinth, a weed that’s super common throughout the Southern U.S., soaks up sewage, including hard-to-handle large pieces. The water hyacinth also soaks up heavy metals and other organic compounds from water. This miraculous process is due to tiny bacteria that live on the plant’s root hairs, which break down the sewage into nutrients that the plant can absorb. Now, towns throughout the South are using water hyacinth lagoons to purify their wastewater. [via HowStuffWorks]
4. Microalgae in baby food
NASA partnered with Martin Marietta Corp. to explore the potential of microalgae as a food source, as well as a source of oxygen on long space flights. During the lengthy research process, the scientists realized the microalgae had potential as a food source on Earth, thanks to one strain called Crypthecodinium cohnii, which produces docosahexaenoc acid (DHA) naturally and in high quantities. Meanwhile, a strain of fungus turned out to produce arachidonic acid, a fatty acid that’s crucial for infant health, in high quantities. The researchers spun off a new corporation to develop its nutritional potential. These “nutritional additives” now appear in 90 percent of all baby formula sold in the United States, and also are used in many products for adults. [via NASA]
NASA partnered with Martin Marietta Corp. to explore the potential of microalgae as a food source, as well as a source of oxygen on long space flights. During the lengthy research process, the scientists realized the microalgae had potential as a food source on Earth, thanks to one strain called Crypthecodinium cohnii, which produces docosahexaenoc acid (DHA) naturally and in high quantities. Meanwhile, a strain of fungus turned out to produce arachidonic acid, a fatty acid that’s crucial for infant health, in high quantities. The researchers spun off a new corporation to develop its nutritional potential. These “nutritional additives” now appear in 90 percent of all baby formula sold in the United States, and also are used in many products for adults. [via NASA]
5. Perfume based on how roses smell in low gravity
A perfume company, International Flavors & Fragrances, wanted to know if roses would smell the same in low gravity, so they cultivated a miniature rose called Overnight Scentsation to grow inside a plant growth chamber called ASTROCULTURE in the midsection of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The rose grew during a 10-day flight on board the shuttle, and researchers discovered that roses do indeed smell different in low gravity — because their production of volatile oils, or essential oils, is different. Astronauts sampled the molecules of the flower during the flight, gathering four samplings of how it smelled in space, and then IFF was able to synthesize a scent based on it. The result was Zen, a perfume from Shiseido. [via NASA]
A perfume company, International Flavors & Fragrances, wanted to know if roses would smell the same in low gravity, so they cultivated a miniature rose called Overnight Scentsation to grow inside a plant growth chamber called ASTROCULTURE in the midsection of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The rose grew during a 10-day flight on board the shuttle, and researchers discovered that roses do indeed smell different in low gravity — because their production of volatile oils, or essential oils, is different. Astronauts sampled the molecules of the flower during the flight, gathering four samplings of how it smelled in space, and then IFF was able to synthesize a scent based on it. The result was Zen, a perfume from Shiseido. [via NASA]
6. Golf balls that fly straighter
The external tanks on the Space Shuttles contain liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, and NASA developed technology to keep the liquid from sloshing around and disrupting the smooth, predictable motion of the shuttle. Similarly, the center of a golf ball contains liquid — so when Wilson Sporting Goods Co. was developing a new golf ball, they turned to an engineer who used to work on the external tank airloads and “slosh control” for the shuttles — thus resulting in a ball that offers unmatched accuracy and distance. [via NASA]
The external tanks on the Space Shuttles contain liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, and NASA developed technology to keep the liquid from sloshing around and disrupting the smooth, predictable motion of the shuttle. Similarly, the center of a golf ball contains liquid — so when Wilson Sporting Goods Co. was developing a new golf ball, they turned to an engineer who used to work on the external tank airloads and “slosh control” for the shuttles — thus resulting in a ball that offers unmatched accuracy and distance. [via NASA]
7. Life-saving grooves
This could be the most valuable of NASA’s innovations, in terms of lives saved. NASA engineers discovered that cutting thin grooves across concrete runways would reduce the risk of hydroplaning, because the grooves create channels to drain off excess water. As a result, hundreds of airports have had their runways “grooved.” And the use of grooves on highways has reduced highway traffic accidents by 85 percent. [via NASA]
8. A handheld acne-treatment device
Tyrell Inc. founder Robert Conrad suffered from adult acne, and was working on a method to use heat to shock and kill the acne-causing bacteria without damaging the surrounding skin. His device was too cumbersome and expensive to produce — until NASA’s Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) hooked him up with a Boeing Company design engineer who worked at Kennedy Space Center. The result: the heating element in the device was smaller, and cost only 10 cents instead of $80 to produce, and Zeno is now a fast-growing product. [via NASA]
Tyrell Inc. founder Robert Conrad suffered from adult acne, and was working on a method to use heat to shock and kill the acne-causing bacteria without damaging the surrounding skin. His device was too cumbersome and expensive to produce — until NASA’s Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) hooked him up with a Boeing Company design engineer who worked at Kennedy Space Center. The result: the heating element in the device was smaller, and cost only 10 cents instead of $80 to produce, and Zeno is now a fast-growing product. [via NASA]
9. Nanomaterials for hairstyling
NASA scientist Dr. Dennis Morrison spent decades researching nano-ceramic materials — tiny particles of ceramics, 10,000 times smaller than a human hair. Among other things, he developed microcapsules full of drugs, that could be injected into cancerous tumors. But Morrison also helped develop a blend of nanoceramic and metals, that could be used in hair-care implements like hair irons — so that when the iron is heated, it releases negative ions that make the hair shinier and more manageable. He’s also researching using near-infrared light from LEDs to stimulate hair growth and speed up hair drying time. [via HowStuffWorks]
NASA scientist Dr. Dennis Morrison spent decades researching nano-ceramic materials — tiny particles of ceramics, 10,000 times smaller than a human hair. Among other things, he developed microcapsules full of drugs, that could be injected into cancerous tumors. But Morrison also helped develop a blend of nanoceramic and metals, that could be used in hair-care implements like hair irons — so that when the iron is heated, it releases negative ions that make the hair shinier and more manageable. He’s also researching using near-infrared light from LEDs to stimulate hair growth and speed up hair drying time. [via HowStuffWorks]
10. Diapers
When NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak went ballistic and drove from Houston to Orlando wearing her space-age diapers, on her way to confront her rival for a fellow astronaut’s affections, the world’s attention was focused on NASA’s diaper technology like never before. But actually, the same technology used in NASA’s Maximum Absorbency Garments (MAGs) is used in regular diapers — it’s a super-absorbent polymer called sodium polyacrylate. This polymer is also used in gardening, because it can absorb water and keep it stored in the soil during a drought. [via Hampton Roads.]
When NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak went ballistic and drove from Houston to Orlando wearing her space-age diapers, on her way to confront her rival for a fellow astronaut’s affections, the world’s attention was focused on NASA’s diaper technology like never before. But actually, the same technology used in NASA’s Maximum Absorbency Garments (MAGs) is used in regular diapers — it’s a super-absorbent polymer called sodium polyacrylate. This polymer is also used in gardening, because it can absorb water and keep it stored in the soil during a drought. [via Hampton Roads.]
Um… yeah, we know ‘all about’ those diapers… sigh…
In other news, the Administration plan President Unicorn envisions takes ‘dead’ aim at the Military and it’s retirement system…
- Establishing an annual enrollment fee for TRICARE For Life
- But… we were guaranteed free medical care for life as a payback for our service (and we will also be kicked to Medicare/Medicaid at 65 now)…
- Another (unspecified) retail pharmacy copay hike
- Possibly to ‘actual’ cost…
- Establishing a BRAC-style commission to recommend “modernizing” the military retirement system
AND the stated intent of the proposals is to “align government programs with those in the private sector” and address the “measurable disparity between the fees most retired private sector workers pay…and what retired military personnel pay.”
In other words, we may be charged up to $7000/yr for our ‘free’ medical care, not counting the $$ we already have to spend to make up the difference for what TRICARE doesn’t cover, and they are also apparently proposing closing all military exchanges and commissaries to ‘align’ the military retirees costs with the private sector.
The ‘BRAC’ shift in retirement is based on converting to a 401k type retirement, with the military only ‘matching’ the funds, and allowing anyone to pay in/get $$ out regardless of years of service. Another thing that will probably go by the wayside is the GI Bill, because it’s “patently unfair” to pay to educate military members just because they serve…
Can we say GUT the military??? If that isn’t a blatant goal of this, I don’t know what is…
And DADT became official today… with MORE social engineering to come… including ‘rumors’ that the administration wants to ‘unionize’ the military…
And this one on “Smart” meters… Which are apparently getting hacked by ‘unknown persons’; e.g. bad guys looking for houses where people are on vacation…
Didn’t microwave ovens come out of the space program as well?
The concrete grooves idea is so simple yet amazingly effective.
Thank you for posting the video. I had no idea!
Concrete grooves at 90 degrees to travel direction may be a good idea. At least in Colorado and Wyoming, the grooves are in the direction of travel. Further, they are in a wavy pattern. When the road ices over, directional control becomes difficult. I don’t ride motorcycles but I bet the wavy grooves when wet could create instability.
I got out before retirement, but yeah, tinkering with retirement benefits for people who’ve already retired blows. That being said, if the military wanted to put younger soldiers into a 401k type account that didn’t vest until you had 10 years with full benefit kicking in at 20, that might be a good idea.
And if they’re going to take away the PX and commissary to align with the civilian market, then they ought to pay the troops a wage that aligns with salaried people who work the hours and in the conditions that they do.
And the GI Bill is completely fair. Anyone can earn it if they take the oath and stay out of trouble for a few years. ‘Fairness’ doesn’t come into play.
PH- Nope, a melted candybar in 1946! http://www.gallawa.com/microtech/history.html
Andy/WSF- True on the grooves, but ONLY when they are perpendicular…
Okay, I got stuck at Astroglide. Trying to figure out the purpose of it in a NASA context. Go figure.
It does make sense about how you can’t find Zen perfume anymore though without paying more money than I have for such things.
And I’m pretty sure that it is a goal of this administration to gut the military or at least render it non-functional.
I keep thinking I need to go to law school. There’s a lot of money to be made in class action law suits over Internet Security failures. I would know the embarrassing questions to ask in front of the jury.
And the “smart” meter folks would be at the top of the list.
It’s a good thing I’m too old to go back to school …
I’m surprised at #6, the golf ball thing. One would figure that ALONE would have this bozo president looking to ADD funding to NASA. . .
AS far as DADT, I get so sick and damned tired of people who’ve never spent a (expletive deleted) day in the military telling me what was good for me, where I was wrong, how I should’ve felt, how I SHOULD feel, etc etc about (expletive deleted) SOCIAL MATTERS THAT HAVE NO (expletive deleted) PLACE IN THE (expletive deleted) MILITARY!!!
Sorry, but this kind of stuff has me resorting back to my proud Staff Sergeant’s vocabulary.
What’s more, it’s not the military that wanted DADT, it was a bunch of cakewalking pussy civlians, most of whom in Congress were draft-dodgers!
It’s also another reason why I no longer encourage anyone to consider the military.
It saved and changed my life, but it did so because of what it used to be: A society with unbending rules, a code of honor, a clearly defined mission, and the guts to achieve and succeed at any and all costs.
Now, our politicos and liberals and sorry-assed civilian social engineers are turning it into a “jobs program.”
(expletive deleted) liberals.
–AOA
I’ve always thought that there was an unwritten but generally acknowledged contract that in exchange for 20+ years of unpredictable and at times highly dangerous service, members of the armed forces were promised, and richly deserve, a bundle of benefits. God knows career military don’t do it for the pay.
To renege on that contract is to break the faith with those who stand between this country and our enemies.
To paraphrase the downgrader-in-chief, “Don’t balance the budget on the backs of the military.”
Someone already mentioned the groves in the road effecting motorcycle riding. It is the tread of the motorcycle tire interacting with the grooves that give you that squirrel y feeling. You can change the tires or get used to it. But your traction is fine! Dunlaps are the worst, Avons are the best, with Metzlers in the better than average school!
Now I am heading out to buy more Astroglide, I have to work today!
Just a comment on the smart meters.. If you have a utility with even a few hundred thousand meters, the data is *not* kept forever… No way a utility company is going to keep that much data. A fairly standard setup is to take readings every 15 minutes. That’s 96 readings per day, per customer… it adds up.
Also, there’s absolutely no way for the meter to know which appliance is being used.
And, while there possibly are some instances where meter data could be misused by authorities, I have never heard of any actual cases – and I do work in the industry. Plus, authorities would require a warrant to obtain such data.
DB- Actually they would not be able to collect ANYTHING till age 60…
MC- Think catheters…
BP- Concur…
AOA- I’m there with ya.
Tim- The left has NEVER cared for the military, because that money could be ‘better’ spent buying votes…
Danny- I wasn’t aware the tires made THAT much difference!
Anon- Thanks for straightening us out! Appreciate that.
C’mon, Ol ‘Fo, help us active duty guys out! (Let’s let the naval officer/diaper story die. . Or we can push the USNA side of the story? I love to bust those Canoe U guys over it!)
PS Speaking of guys, “someone” was beating up P-3 guys over your Chaz Bono comment at my blog. . . Just sayin’. . .
Fascinating!
N1- Be there shortly… 🙂
ADM- Yep, it IS interesting!