7 Technologies That Have Entered Our Lives With NASA

Space studies and the defense industry have often played a leading role in the development of technology. Especially the huge wars in the last century and the space races that followed have become the incubation center of technology. The first and pioneering technologies were born and developed when defense and exploration of Space were important. Thanks to NASA, one of the leading forces of the space race, many technology and innovation products have met humanity. While trying to keep up with the difficult conditions of space, he made important discoveries in the world. We mentioned 7 of them in our article.

1) Advanced Water Filters:

Even though water filters existed before NASA, the limited water problem to be encountered in space travel has made water filters much more advanced. The working mechanism is that activated carbon, obtained by special processing of coal, absorbs the impurities on the water surface. The reason for using activated carbon is that it has a very large surface and thus facilitates bonding. The first examples were given during the Apollo Programme. In addition to this technology, NASA also contributed to the detection of underground water by means of satellite and remote sensing sensors.

2) Portable Computers:

It is also known as a laptop. What allows us to take our computer wherever we want these days is actually a Space mission. The first ancestor of portable computers, Grid Compass made its debut on a Space mission in 1983. In addition, the first mouse was designed by Bob Taylor, who provided funds to NASA, with the support of Douglas Engelbart in 1964.

3) Voltage Controller:

In the late 1970s, Frank Nola, an engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, had an idea to reduce energy waste in small asynchronous motors. He developed a method for electronically adjusting the voltage according to the load of the motor. Many electrically powered devices and machines today, such as escalators and elevators, require more or less power depending on the load they carry. In electrical machines carrying all kinds of loads, a voltage control device, which consumes only enough power for the load on it, is also a product of this method in order to reduce wear and tear and save power and cost.

4) Heart Pump:

The next technology, on the other hand, acts as a bridge in helping critically ill heart patients to cling to life. It helps pump his blood until a suitable donor is found. It was designed thanks to NASA’s expertise in simulating fluid flow from rocket engines.

5) Packaged and Frozen Foods:

If you are going on a long journey, food is a must. Especially if it’s a space travel, then you will need food that is both safe and clean and takes up as little space as possible. For the cleanliness and safety of these foods, NASA chose to pack the food in packaging. Later, this approach changed the entire food industry. In addition, it has benefited from freeze-drying technology so that the food takes up less space. This allowed food to retain 98% of its nutritional value, even though it was reduced to 20% of its original weight.

6) Joystick (Joystick):

Joysticks existed before NASA, but they were very different from today’s designs. The initial designs of the arms we now use for gaming were developed to be as precise as possible to control the spacecraft and rovers on the Moon during lunar landing missions. ThrustMaster, which designs joysticks for space missions, now manufactures joysticks that can land a space shuttle.

7) Swimming Trunks:

The design we will talk about now has been a banned product in international swimming competitions since 2010. Speedo, a major swimwear manufacturer, designed a special swimsuit for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The design was developed thanks to wind tunnels, where NASA tested aircraft parts for their movement in the wind. It enabled the determination of materials and seam types that would minimize water friction. Working on the principle of minimizing the vibration of the muscles, the swimsuits reduced the friction of the water by 6%. Legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps preferred this swimsuit produced by Speedo and won 8 gold medals at the 2008 Olympics.

Sources:

• spinoff.nasa.gov
• howitworksdaily.com/5-nasa-inventions-in-your-home