NASA Spinoff

Topics:

Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources
Micronutrient Formula Strengthens Plants, Increasing Yields
Micronutrient Formula Strengthens Plants, Increasing Yields

NASA Technology

An apple a day keeps the doctor away—but how do you bring enough apples, and other fresh food, all the way to Mars and back? Given the limits on how...

Micronutrient Formula Strengthens Plants, Increasing Yields
Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources
Chemical Simulation Software Predicts Climate Change, Air Quality
Chemical Simulation Software Predicts Climate Change, Air Quality

NASA Technology

For climate scientists, the whole Earth is a laboratory. They need to observe what is happening across the entire planet over long swaths of...

Chemical Simulation Software Predicts Climate Change, Air Quality
Spinoff: Environmental and Agricultural Resources
NASA Kite Invention Spurs Ever-Growing Educational Program
NASA Kite Invention Spurs Ever-Growing Educational Program

NASA Technology

When an educational agency contacted NASA engineer Geoff Bland in 2010, wondering about a way to monitor ponds and streams where water samples were being...

NASA Kite Invention Spurs Ever-Growing Educational Program
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Planet-Navigating AI “Brain” Helps Drones and Cars Avoid Collisions
Planet-Navigating AI “Brain” Helps Drones and Cars Avoid Collisions

NASA Technology

Once you’ve designed a robot that can autonomously explore planetary terrains, putting the same technology in cars, toys, and drones seems...

Planet-Navigating AI “Brain” Helps Drones and Cars Avoid Collisions
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Early NASA “Dream Computer Program” Still Optimizes Designs
Early NASA “Dream Computer Program” Still Optimizes Designs

NASA Technology

At the top of the food chain, an apex predator hunts without fear of being hunted. That’s why MSC Software Corporation branded its latest software...

Early NASA “Dream Computer Program” Still Optimizes Designs
Spinoff: Computer Technology
2D Analysis Software Clarifies Medical, Weather, Intelligence Images
2D Analysis Software Clarifies Medical, Weather, Intelligence Images

NASA Technology

NASA engineer Semion Kizhner spent an entire week trying to understand the Hilbert-Huang Transform with the colleague who had developed it, but...

2D Analysis Software Clarifies Medical, Weather, Intelligence Images
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Quake Hunter Maps a Century of Quakes Worldwide
Quake Hunter Maps a Century of Quakes Worldwide

NASA Technology

Earthquakes are among the most destructive natural disasters, in terms of death tolls and the cost of recovery. They’re also nearly impossible to predict, but...

Quake Hunter Maps a Century of Quakes Worldwide
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Free Aerodynamic Simulation Code Supports Industry, Education
Free Aerodynamic Simulation Code Supports Industry, Education

NASA Technology

In the mid-1990s, NASA, the Air Force, and McDonnell Douglas Corporation realized they were duplicating each other’s efforts to make better software...

Free Aerodynamic Simulation Code Supports Industry, Education
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Software Models Atmosphere for Spacecraft
Software Models Atmosphere for Spacecraft

NASA Technology

When the Curiosity rover made its spectacular landing on Mars, most of the attention was focused on the revolutionary “sky-crane maneuver” that helped slow the...

Software Models Atmosphere for Spacecraft
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Software Takes Cost Estimating to the Stars
Software Takes Cost Estimating to the Stars

NASA Technology

When imagining what it takes to design a spacecraft, few people think about the engineering work that goes into getting an accurate cost estimate before the building...

Software Takes Cost Estimating to the Stars
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Communication Devices Ease Contact with Commercial Spacecraft
Communication Devices Ease Contact with Commercial Spacecraft

NASA Technology

Scientific experimentation is the central purpose of the International Space Station (ISS), where astronauts work toward answers that will be crucial...

Communication Devices Ease Contact with Commercial Spacecraft
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Mission Control Software Manages Commercial Satellite Fleets
Mission Control Software Manages Commercial Satellite Fleets

NASA Technology

The task of monitoring and diagnosing spacecraft health is getting out of hand.

Mission Control Software Manages Commercial Satellite Fleets
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
High-Speed Cameras Test Material Performances on Impact
High-Speed Cameras Test Material Performances on Impact

NASA Technology

When something goes wrong in space, the results can be tragic. NASA takes the responsibility of testing to understand past accidents and prevent future ones...

High-Speed Cameras Test Material Performances on Impact
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
External Platform Enables Space Research
External Platform Enables Space Research

NASA Technology

Not all the research on the space station happens on the inside. A good portion of the investigations take advantage of the orbiting outpost’s perch some 250 miles above...

External Platform Enables Space Research
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
All-in-One Lab Device Gets New Instruments via Software Update
All-in-One Lab Device Gets New Instruments via Software Update

NASA Technology

Devices for testing electronics haven’t changed much in decades, and this presents an inconvenience not just for the engineers using them but for...

All-in-One Lab Device Gets New Instruments via Software Update
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
Gold Coating Keeps Oscars Bright
Gold Coating Keeps Oscars Bright

NASA Technology

The Academy Awards ceremony is probably the last place most people would look for NASA technology, but it turns out the Space Agency has had an impact even on the glammest of...

Gold Coating Keeps Oscars Bright
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
3D Printer Aims to Accelerate Materials Development
3D Printer Aims to Accelerate Materials Development

NASA Technology

When Mark Jaster was a brand-new graduate, he landed a coveted job at NASA’s Glenn Research Center after two summer internships there, in the heat treatment...

3D Printer Aims to Accelerate Materials Development
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
Silicon Diode Sensor Tracks Extreme Temperatures
Silicon Diode Sensor Tracks Extreme Temperatures

NASA Technology

When people feel sick, they can just grab a drugstore thermometer and pop it in their mouth. But it’s a different story for engineers looking to get an accurate...

Silicon Diode Sensor Tracks Extreme Temperatures
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
Tunable Liquid Crystals Grab Particles and Cells Using Only Light
Tunable Liquid Crystals Grab Particles and Cells Using Only Light

NASA Technology

Images taken from high in the sky can offer clues to how well a plant is growing and whether its water needs are being met. The key is in filtering...

Tunable Liquid Crystals Grab Particles and Cells Using Only Light
Spinoff: Transportation
Hydraulic Carts Streamline Structural Tests for Aircraft
Hydraulic Carts Streamline Structural Tests for Aircraft

NASA Technology

Facilities for mechanical loads testing of aircraft and spacecraft are often jungles of cables, wiring, and hoses.

Hydraulic Carts Streamline Structural Tests for Aircraft
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
Shuttle, Hubble Work Lead to Strength in Custom Current Sensors
Shuttle, Hubble Work Lead to Strength in Custom Current Sensors

NASA Technology

When it was built, the Space Shuttle boasted the world’s most complex avionics system. The Shuttle’s controls were entirely digital, with all...

Shuttle, Hubble Work Lead to Strength in Custom Current Sensors
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
3D Weaving Technology Strengthens Spacecraft, Race Cars
3D Weaving Technology Strengthens Spacecraft, Race Cars

NASA Technology

Weaving processes created millennia ago have helped create some of the most cutting-edge technology on NASA’s Orion spaceship, helping shield heat for...

3D Weaving Technology Strengthens Spacecraft, Race Cars
Spinoff: Computer Technology
Data Acquisition System Captures Machine Performance
Data Acquisition System Captures Machine Performance

NASA Technology

When you launch rockets, even the smallest deviation from design can create big problems—and they’re hard to fix for next time unless you know exactly what...

Data Acquisition System Captures Machine Performance
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
High-Heat Cement Gives Ashes New Life
High-Heat Cement Gives Ashes New Life

NASA Technology

When constructing high-performance structures, at NASA or elsewhere, materials made from recycled ingredients might not seem like a good fit. But when it comes to concrete...

High-Heat Cement Gives Ashes New Life
Spinoff: Industrial Productivity & Manufacturing Technology
Optical Filters for NASA Imagers Focus on Cutting Edge
Optical Filters for NASA Imagers Focus on Cutting Edge

NASA Technology

By the time the Hubble Space Telescope launched, NASA engineers had already set their sights on its next upgrade. With camera and detector technologies...

Optical Filters for NASA Imagers Focus on Cutting Edge
Spinoff: Health and Medicine
Fluorescent Diagnostic Test Readers Offer Fast, Low-Cost Results
Fluorescent Diagnostic Test Readers Offer Fast, Low-Cost Results

NASA Technology

NASA astronauts are screened for sound health, among a slew of other requirements, but no one is invulnerable, especially in space. For reasons not...

Fluorescent Diagnostic Test Readers Offer Fast, Low-Cost Results
Spinoff: Consumer, Home, and Recreation
CMOS Sensors Enable Phone Cameras, HD Video
CMOS Sensors Enable Phone Cameras, HD Video

NASA Technology

“People told me, ‘You’re an idiot to work on this,’” Eric Fossum recalls of his early experiments with what was at the time an alternate form of digital image...

CMOS Sensors Enable Phone Cameras, HD Video
Spinoff: Public Safety
Rocket Technology Stops Shaking in Its Tracks
Rocket Technology Stops Shaking in Its Tracks

NASA Technology

Rocket launches—or earthquakes—are already punishing experiences. But it turns out there are some things that can make them worse: like if the vibrations hit the...

Rocket Technology Stops Shaking in Its Tracks
Spinoff: Health and Medicine
Space-Based Bone Scanner Expands Medical Research

NASA Technology

What happens to bones after months in microgravity? The answers are of keen interest to researchers, who can use the information to offer new insights into healthcare on the ground.

Spinoff: Public Safety
Micromachined Sensors Monitor Train Rails, Predict Failures
Micromachined Sensors Monitor Train Rails, Predict Failures

NASA Technology

Sensors originally designed to predict failures in a helicopter transmission have found an unexpected use detecting problems in train tracks. When...

Micromachined Sensors Monitor Train Rails, Predict Failures