developed by NASA have led to many advances
here on Earth, including some that we now take for
granted in our everyday life such as cell phones and
fire-resistant clothing. Informing the general public of
these ‘spinoff’ technologies isn’t always the easiest
thing, but one that NASA tries to do anyway.
ADAMS: “There is a book we put out each year called
Spinoffs. The 2013 book just came out. It is an amazing
book of NASA in your life. Things that NASA has invested
in for missions that have direct application right here
on Earth. The innovation that NASA brings to bear
on accomplishing these extremely hard missions –
landing a ton of robot on the surface of Mars safely, or
getting to be able to sense the ozone layer and watch
it open and close, or keep human beings in space
for six months at a time – those are extremely hard
problems that require a great deal of fresh thought
and innovation. When we think that way there’s
always stuff that applies to our lives here terrestrially
on Earth. That innovation primes an economic pump
that creates businesses and sub economies here on
Earth that pay dividends many, many times over.
Investment in space creates an economy here on
Earth of innovation that allows us to have things like
cell phones, lasers, lightweight blankets, advanced
materials, and a variety of robotics. The list just goes
on and on. I believe that NASA is crucial to the
advancement of technology right here on Earth, even
though we’re working on things in space.
You can get a summary of these innovations via
an app in the iTunes store for your iPad and iPhone
called NASA Spinoffs. You can download it and read
the NASA spinoffs for yourself.
I’d also pose a thought question for people. Think
about what it would be like if there was no NASA.
If there was no NASA where would that spirit of
innovation come from? How would we begin to think
about ourselves as a nation, earthbound, constantly
looking at the stars and wondering what’s out there?
I think the investment that the United States public
sacrifices to make in NASA is worth every dime of
it. And we need to spend it wisely answering those
fundamental questions: Where did we come from?
Where are we going? And are we alone?”
Spinoff 2013 shows how much space is in our lives
Water filtration bottles, comfortable car
seats and remote medical monitoring devices all have one thing
in common -- they all
have benefited from
NASA technology.
These products are
featured in Spinoff 2013,
an online publication
now
available
that
highlights commercial
products created using
NASA-developed
technology, including NASA-developed space technologies benefit those of us here on Earth.
some developed at the
agency’s Jet Propulsion
nologies also make life better here
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Also on Earth,” said Daniel Lockney, NAfeatured in the 2013 edition is an air SA’s Technology Transfer program
purification system that can sustain executive. “Spinoff 2013 is filled with
miners in the event of a disaster, a examples of how NASA technology
solar-powered vaccine refrigerator benefits our lives every day.”
saving lives in remote areas throughNASA has a long history of transferout the world, and a powerful heat ring technologies from their original
shield used on the first commercial mission applications to secondary
spacecraft to successfully achieve uses. For example, Mars continues
orbit and return to Earth.
to be a rich destination for scientific
“NASA develops technologies to discovery and exploration, and NApush the boundaries of what’s pos- SA’s missions there have inspired a
sible in space, but those same tech- variety of practical, terrestrial ben-
efits. Spinoff 2013 features stories about some
of these technologies,
including a wind turbine
that could one day be
used to provide energy
for a human exploration
mission on the Red Planet, and is being used
today in harsh environments here on Earth.
New to Spinoff this
year is a section called
“Spinoffs of Tomorrow,”
which showcases 18
Credit: NASA NASA
technologies
currently available for
licensing and partnership opportunities.
NASA’s Technology Transfer Progr am is charged with finding the
widest possible applications of
agency technology. Through partnerships and licensing agreements
with industry, the program ensures
NASA’s investments in pioneering
research find secondary applications that benefit the economy, create jobs, and improve quality of life.
Spinoff 2013 is available online at:
http://spinoff.nasa.gov/.
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