Everyone’s famous handheld vacuum comes courtesy of
NASA after the agency partnered with Black & Decker to build
battery-operated tools for collecting samples from the moon’s
surfaces during exploration. The device was so good at
collecting samples that it was quickly adopted for use in
hospitals, industry, and your home.
Transcend Brac-kets
come from NASA and are a high technology orthodontic innovation
in which individual translucent brackets, especially designed
for each tooth, work in concert with a thin metal connecting
wire to gradually reposition teeth, mouth and jaws into proper
alignment. Intended to meet a need for an orthodontic appliance
that was aesthetically appealing yet as clinically effective as
plastic or metal braces, Transcend Brack-ets are made of a very
hard, shatter-resistant alumina with high strength and maximum
translucency. The translucency allows light to pass through the
ceramic material to the tooth, thereby causing the bracket to
appear tooth-colored. The brackets do not stain, discolor,
deform or bend.
In an effort to lighten
astronauts’ suits and equipment, NASA developed suits with blow
rubber molding. Not only did the material shave the 30-pound
suits by a third, but the fireproof material also became the
cushioning gel used in the soles of athletic sneakers.
Speedo’s Aqualab Speedo
now considerd the most efficient swimsuit yet: the LZR Racer was
invented by NASA.
Martek, a bioscience
company, partnered with NASA to develop a nutritional supplement
to sustain astronauts during long-duration space flights.
Coincidentally, the supplement was made, in part, of microalgae
high in DHA and ARA, two fatty acids important for infant
development. When the partnership was over, Martek made a
spin-off of the supplement, now found in nearly 95 percent of
infant formula.
Radiant barrier
technology was developed by NASA over 40 years ago to normalize
temperatures aboard spacecraft and stations, but it was not
until 2004 that it found a use in homes. The barrier can be
applied to increase the efficiency of home insulation, further
reducing heating and cooling bills.