Everyday technologies born out of space research
While we talk about the recent developments and cutting-edge breakthroughs in the commercialization of space, research in SpaceTech has for a long time contributed to technologies that have become mainstream in consumer lives elsewhere.
The constraints and challenges associated with space have often forced researchers to think outside the box to create innovative solutions that have found mainstream adoption and demand here on Earth itself.
Here are three mainstream technologies that came out of space research:
1. Camera phones: While the first digital camera was built in 1975, the concept of digital photography was first developed in the 1960s, in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Researchers at NASA were looking at ways to create small, lightweight image sensors that could withstand the conditions in space. As part of this research, the term “pixel” was first coined in 1965. Furthering this research in 1990, the JPL researchers team created CMOS — image sensors that could miniaturize the camera while maintaining high image quality. While CMOS sensors were made for space applications, by 2000, it was highly commercialized, and over 1 million sensors were shipped for use in everything — from digital cameras to dental radiography and endoscopes.
2. MRIs and CAT scans: CAT scans and MRIs are medical diagnostic techniques or body scanning that are used worldwide to scan for tumors or other irregularities. These scans are based on digital image processing technology that was first developed by NASA for the Apollo mission. The system helped NASA’s space shuttle engineers characterize structural assemblies by producing high-quality CT images. These images were used to detect anomalies and defects which would otherwise cascade into mission failures if not detected. Today, this technology is also used across aerospace and industrial tool manufacturing as an inspection system.
3. Insulin pump: Today, diabetes patients around the world use insulin pumps to manage their blood sugar levels. Insulin pumps are derivatives of NASA’s Viking program, which was developed to launch probes to better study the surface of Mars. As part of the program, Goddard Technologies developed a Programmable Implantable Medication System (PIMS) that allowed NASA to keep an eye and track astronauts’ vitals.
As companies continue to research and develop new technologies for space, we will continue to see more applications emerge across industries and markets.
In fact, in 2019, as India looked to develop capabilities in battery manufacturing, ISRO’s VSSC successfully developed Li-Ion cells of capacity ranging from 1.5Ah to 100Ah and transferred this technology to 10 Indian companies to promote indigenous Li-Ion production for applications across industries, including aerospace and EVs.
