NASA ‘Spinoff’ highlights space tech in our daily lives

December 28, 2010 — How could a device designed to produce fuel and oxygen on Mars be transformed into a source of clean energy on Earth? Or how could low plasticity burnishing (LPB) on metal engine components translate into more dependable modular hip implants for patients? The answers to those questions and more can be found in the 2010 edition of NASA’s annual Spinoff publication. The publication, now available online, provides an in-depth look at how the agency's initiatives in aeronautics and space exploration have resulted in beneficial commercial technologies in the fields of health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, environmental protection, computer technology, and industrial productivity. "Through NASA's work with its commercial partners, technologies that are helping us explore our universe are now also saving lives, preserving our environment and enhancing our nation's transportation and security," said Bobby Braun, chief technologist at NASA Headquarters. "Since 1976, NASA's Spinoff publication has documented more than 1,700 compelling examples of NASA research and innovation that benefit the public every day." Spinoff 2010 contains dozens of examples highlighting how space technology yields innovations with Earthly benefits, including:            Algorithms developed by a NASA researcher that are enabling technology for medical diagnosis and prediction of brain blood flow-related conditions such as stroke, dementia, and traumatic brain injury NASA-proven, drag-reducing wing modifications that have already saved commercial airlines more than 2 billion gallons in jet fuel Inflatable antennas, developed with NASA funding, which support essential communication needs in remote areas during military operations, as well as in disaster zones Image sensors, invented by a NASA team, that are now featured in one out of every three cell phone cameras A groundwater remediation compound, created by NASA to treat contaminated launch facilities, now being used to clean up polluted areas around the world Spinoff also profiles NASA's research and development activities, education efforts and partnership successes for the year.		Bloom Energy Servers, seen here on eBay’s corporate campus, are now providing environmentally friendly, cost-saving energy to a number of Fortune 500 companies. Bloom Energy’s ES-5000 Energy Server employs the planar solid oxide fuel cell technology originally created for the NASA Mars project. Photo credit: NASA During the 1970s, the focus at Dryden Flight Research Center shifted from high-speed and high-altitude flight to incremental improvements in technology and aircraft efficiency. One manifestation of this trend occurred in the winglet flight research carried out on this KC-135 during 1979 and 1980. NASA-proven drag-reducing wing modifications have saved commercial airlines more than 2 billion gallons in jet fuel. Photo credit: NASA

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