BETSY TAYLOR - Associated Press
ST. LOUIS -- When U.S. astronauts stepped onto the moon on July
20, 1969, their voyage was about exploration, discovery and pushing
the boundaries of known technology.
In the 40 years since, NASA-related technology has come down to
earth. Hundreds of everyday products were developed or modified
using aerospace research, from baby formula to swimsuits.
Speaking in April before the National Academy of Sciences,
President Barack Obama highlighted scientific advances from the
work to put astronauts on the moon:
"The Apollo program itself produced technologies that have
improved kidney dialysis and water purification systems; sensors to
test for hazardous gases; energy-saving building materials; and
fire-resistant fabrics used by firefighters and soldiers. And, more
broadly, the enormous investment of that era - in science and
technology, in education and research funding - produced a great
outpouring of curiosity and creativity, the benefits of which have
And while the president didn't explode this myth, it must be
NASA didn't create Tang.
"The first things people think of are Tang, Teflon and Velcro.
None of them originated with the space program," said Roger
Launius, senior curator in space history at the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
According to Spinoff, a NASA publication about the practical
benefits of aerospace research, astronaut John Glenn drank Tang
while in orbit in 1962, upping the orange-flavored beverage's
visibility and linking it to the space program, though General
Foods Corp. developed the drink in 1957. Teflon, used for some heat
shields and spacesuits, and Velcro, used to, well, keep equipment
from floating around, have a role in the space program but
originated well before NASA.
But there are plenty of items widely in use with ties to the
Here's a sampling:
- Global communications and GPS systems: NASA can't take credit
for your cell phone or iPod. But it did develop smaller, more
lightweight computer systems to put on its spacecraft, helping
drive technology work in that direction. And while many satellites
are commercially launched and owned these days, experts say we
likely wouldn't have our global communications systems, or that GPS
mounted on the dash, without NASA's work and support.
- Enriched baby formula: In the early 1980s, NASA conducted
experiments with algae, to gauge how it might be used on long space
flights involving humans to provide food, oxygen, or help with
waste disposal. Scientists realized the algae could provide
nutritional supplements, like two fatty acids previously found only
in human milk.
A Columbia, Maryland-based company called Martek Biosciences
Corp. formed in 1985. It developed life'sDHA and life'sARA,
nutritional additives which are the same fatty acids found in human
breast milk. The products are believed to help with mental and
visual development. The company says its DHA is now found in more
than 100 foods and drinks and about 99 percent of the baby formula
sold in the United States.
- Freeze-dried foods: No trip to the Air and Space Museum or the
Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, would be complete
without a snack of crunchy, freeze-dried ice cream. Although NASA
didn't invent the process of freeze-drying food, the agency worked
on ways to better preserve foods and their nutrients. "They did
enhance it; they advanced it," said Launius, who previously worked
as NASA's chief historian. So backpackers ripping open a packet of
freeze-dried camping food can give a nod in NASA's direction.