From Space to Earth — 10 Inventions we use daily

When I speak to people about my sheer love of space exploration and amazement at organizations like SpaceX and NASA, I often hear this:

“Why should we spend money going to Mars when we have so many problems here on planet Earth? “

Well, here’s the short answer - because of technology transfer. That was it. You can go now! Although, if you want to know what that means and how important it is, keep on reading.

Space has created new markets and technologies that have spurred our economy and changed our lives in many ways. Do you care about better medicine, providing clean water to people all over the world and growing enough food for the increasing global population? Of course you do. Well, space has been an extremely crucial industry that helps us get closer to solving many of these problems.

Here’s a list of 10 inventions you probably didn’t know were actually developed for applications in space:

1. Digital cameras (not kidding!) - the first person to actually develop the concept of the digital camera was Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineer Eugene Lally, who in the 1960s described the use of mosaic photosensors to digitize light signals and produce still images. Wanna take a selfie?
2. Wireless headsets - You’ve heard the line “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”. On July 20, 1969, this historic transmission was delivered from Armstrong’s headset to the headsets of Mission Control personnel at NASA, and then on to the world. To ensure that this message was delivered loud and clear to all, NASA worked on delivering the best headset-communication technology possible. Today, the heart of this technology beats in wireless solutions everywhere around us.
3. Artificial limbs - Environmental Robots Inc.’s development of artificial muscle systems with robotic sensing and actuation capabilities for use in NASA space robotic and extravehicular activities have been adapted to create functionally dynamic artificial limbs for humans.
4. Memory foam - Do you like your comfy pillow? Well, it was created by aeronautical engineer Charles Yost when he was contacted to develop energy-absorbing techniques for increased survivability in aerial crashes. That was in 1966! Yost created an open-cell, polymeric “memory” foam material with unusual viscoelastic properties; that is, it possessed both high-energy absorption and soft characteristics.
5. Scratch-resistant lenses - Interested in the possibilities of synthetic diamond coatings for aerospace systems, Lewis Research Center sought to get the advantages of diamond without the cost penalty. After extensive research, one coating method was developed, a technique known as direct ion deposition, in which an ion generator creates a stream of ions from a hydrocarbon gas source; the carbon ions impinge directly on the target substrate and “grow” into a thin DLC film. Now this coating is being used to cover your expensive Ray Bans.
6. The Mouse - We take the computer mouse for granted, but the device started out as “one small and relatively simple component” of a broader goal, according to Bob Taylor, who provided NASA funding for research that led to the device in the early 1960s.
7. Ear thermometer - The thermometer sensors were first developed for satellites to check temperatures of stars and other celestial objects by reading infrared radiation. Adopting this infrared sensor technology developed for space missions, the Diatek Corporation of San Diego, Calif., produced an aural thermometer that gauges body temperature in two seconds or less. And it is accurate within two-tenths of a degree!
8. Body imaging -The high-tech art of digital signal processing (DSP) was pioneered at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the mid-196Os for use in the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. Designed to enhance computer images of the moon, this technology is now employed in advanced body imaging techniques including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and computer-aided tomography, also known as CT and CATScan. I’m so glad for the MRI because without it, my shoulder surgery would’ve been much more complicated. Thanks NASA.
9. Water purification - In the 1960s, NASA’s Manned Space Center conducted a research program to develop a small, lightweight water purifier for the Apollo spacecraft that would require minimal power and would not need to be monitored around-the-clock by astronauts in orbit. The purifier they came up with was a tad larger than a cigarette pack and could successfully kill off bacteria. Nowadays, purification systems based on this technology have been installed in thousands of fountains, indoor/outdoor pools, spas and even zoos.
10. Baby food - Yes, NASA are meddling with our offspring. How dare they. When NASA needed to find a way for astronauts to eat on long-duration, deep space missions, they cultivated nutrient-enriched algae containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA). DHA and ARA are believed to be beneficial to infant mental and visual development, so they are used in baby food all over the world.

I hope you understand now. In fact, this list pales in comparison with the thousands of inventions that have reached the world. We’re not wasting our resources. We should be spending more.

By exploring the cosmos, we won’t just find answers to the problems that plague us daily, we will learn much about ourselves and our place in the universe. Lets finish off with this amazing quote from none other than Carl Sagan:

“Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.”