NASA Facts

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center FS-2004-07-002-JSC
July 2004

Benefits from Apollo: Giant Leaps in Technology

The Moon, a luminous object in the
night sky that once inspired limitless
speculation, afforded the inspiration
for scientific discoveries in space and on
Earth – thanks to the Apollo Program.
The world was captivated on July 20, 1969,
when hundreds of millions watched through the lens of a
compact camera built specifically for space as man planted
his first step onto the lunar surface. Astronauts recorded
details of the momentous occasion with special pens that
allowed ink to flow freely in low gravity. Other technologies
like breathing apparatuses, fabric structures, communications
and protective coatings that made man’s step on the Moon To the Moon, through the roof
possible soon led to giant leaps in technology on Earth. Houston’s Reliant Stadium features the first retractable roof
NASA’s Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization of its kind, made possible by NASA technology. NASA’s
licenses space-age technologies and connects with the private spacesuit fabric has fostered many new innovations, including
sector through business-to-business partnerships for the a permanent structure fabric developed for the Apollo Program
creation of products that improve lives here on Earth. Below and produced by New York-based Birdair, Inc. Pound for
are a few of the many viable commercial products America pound, the material is stronger than steel and weighs less than
enjoys today with roots that reach as far as the Moon. five ounces per square foot. Its translucency value, which
ranges from four to 18 percent, reduces lighting needs and
helps maintain the natural grass playing field. Its reflectivity
Playing with the Pros lowers cooling costs, and the Teflon coating reduces
maintenance costs by increasing the fabric’s resistance to
Sports and recreation manufacturers looked to NASA upon moisture, temperature extremes and deterioration. These
landing on the Moon in pursuit of improving their game. factors combine to lower initial costs and speed construction.
Walk, jog or run like an astronaut There are two applications for Birdair’s fabric; tension
“Moon Boot” material has revolu- structures that are supported by a network of cables and
tionized athletic footwear, improving pylons (used in the Reliant Stadium), or temporary air-
shock absorption and providing supported structures that consist of an outer membrane and
superior stability and motion an inner liner. On average, the use of fabric covering, which
control. Al Gross, a NASA Apollo can last up to 20 years, can help reduce building costs by as
Program engineer, used his space much as 30 percent. Spinoff 1978 and 1990
expertise to improve athletic shoes.
He substituted DuPont’s Hytrel Rearranging furniture in a stadium
plastic for foam materials in the Together, NASA and General Motors developed a way to
shoe’s mid-sole to eliminate cushioning loss caused by body move heavy loads more easily by lifting them onto a thin air
weight. An external pressurized shell and stress-free “blow cushion. Rolair Systems, Inc. was formed by former General
molding” process adapted from NASA spacesuit technology Motors’ engineers and has found commercial uses for the
was also used. The resulting compression chamber mid-sole innovation. Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium uses this technology to
allowed the popular shoemaker, AVIA Inc., to reconfigure re-arrange the stadium seating by moving an entire 7,000-seat
designs for specific sports and provide a “first step” toward a section on a cushion of air. A single operator can reposition
durable, foamless, non-fatiguing mid-sole. Spinoff 1991 this huge section in just half an hour. Spinoff 1978
Safeguarding You and Space Station. The solar array surface area currently on orbit
is 9,600 square feet, nearly half (40%) the size of a football
the Environment field (24,480 square feet). The skyscraper-sized solar arrays
Technologies guarding astronauts on the Moon now protect harness energy from the sun to power the Space Station.
you and the environment on Earth. Spinoff 1981

Astronaut flight suits Chlorine-free pools

fighting fires on Earth NASA’s silver ion technology has been used to create an
Fire hazards are much automatic pool purifier. Caribbean Clear Inc. system offers
greater in atmospheres an alternative to chemicals, such as chlorine and bromine.
containing a high percentage Purifiers use silver
of oxygen under pressure. ions, as used in
After the 1967 Apollo fire, Apollo Purification
NASA needed to find new Systems, to kill
ways to protect astronauts bacteria, copper ions
and their vessels. The and algae. They
Monsanto Company produce spa or pool
developed a chemically water that exceeds
treated fabric called EPA Standards
Durette that does not burn. for drinking water.
Spinoff 1994
A National Bureau of
Standards/NASA project Apollo innovation shakes up seismology
resulted in a lightweight
breathing system including Through a contract with NASA, Wyle-3S built an
facemask, frame, harness and air bottle marketed by Scott enormously forceful shock and vibration system to simulate
Aviation. Aluminum composite material was used to reduce liftoff stresses on the launch pad. In addition to earthquake
the weight of the overall apparatus, and the frame and testing, the company has adapted its shaking technology to
harness were designed to be much easier to put on and take evaluate railway cars, rail- or road-transported cargo, truck
off. Today nearly every major manufacturer of breathing refrigeration units and highway pavements without
apparatus incorporates NASA technology in some form, destroying or harming its surroundings. Spinoff 1979
helping to reduce the incidence of inhalation-related injuries.
Spinoff 1982
Medical Marvels from the Moon
Safety in security systems Apollo-based technologies launched major medical
Technology developed by NASA led to an intruder detector breakthroughs on Earth.
that helps prevent burglaries. Before prowlers can break in,
vibration-sensing detectors pick up movements of anyone Shocking heart
within range and relay warnings to portable radio receivers monitors
that alert guards or residents. Encased in a stainless steel NASA’s Apollo
tube, the detectors are implanted in the ground outside the technology was used
facility being protected - home, bank, industrial complex or by Medrad to develop
other facility. Spinoff 1978 the AID implantable
automatic pulse
Solar Panels: more generator, which
power, less pollution monitors the heart
Innovations developed continuously,
with technology from recognizes the onset
NASA’s Apollo lunar of a heart attack and
module program has delivers a corrective
created a renewable electrical shock. The
energy resource used on pulse generator is, in effect, a miniaturized version of
Earth and in space. Solar the defibrillator used by emergency squads and hospitals
panels collect electricity to restore rhythmic heartbeat after fibrillation. Once
by absorbing light when it implanted, it needs no specially trained personnel or
strikes the surface and additional equipment and consists of a microcomputer,
transfers it to a semiconductor. These solar panels are used a power source and two electrodes that sense heart
on calculators, street lights, houses and on the International activity. Spinoff 1980
Apollo sets the pace At Home with Apollo
St. Jude Medical’s Cardiac Many everyday home and consumer products today trace
Rhythm Management their roots to technologies born during Apollo missions.
Division used Apollo
technology to develop a No cords attached
programmable pacemaker
Utilizing NASA’s
system. A physician can
cordless innovations,
communicate with a
Black & Decker created
patient’s pacemaker by
cordless, lightweight
means of wireless telemetry signals transmitted through the
battery-powered precision
communicating head held over the patient’s chest. Where
instruments designed to
earlier pacemakers delivered a fixed type of stimulus once
give surgeons optimum
implanted, this system enables “fine tuning” of the device to
freedom and versatility in
best suit the patient’s changing needs. Spinoff 1980
the operating room. It
also led to today’s electric
Easier treatments for dialysis patients
screwdrivers, drills and other portable and chargeable
Technology originally developed under NASA contract by devices. Cordless power tools are also used to help build the
Marquardt Corporation, a chemical process was developed to International Space Station on orbit. Spinoff 1981
remove toxic waste from used dialysis fluid. This discovery
led to the development of a kidney dialysis machine using Clocks with rocks
“sorbent” dialysis, a method of removing urea from human
To keep missions on time, General
blood by treating a dialysate solution. The process saves
Time Corp. developed electrically
electricity and gives the patient greater freedom of
stimulated quartz crystals. Quartz
movement during treatment. Spinoff 1992
provides a stable time base,
giving clocks an accuracy of one
Cool ideas from Apollo
minute a year. By vibrating up to
NASA’s Cool Suit technology — originally designed to 4,194,304 times a second, these
keep astronauts cool during launch using a water circulation clocks keep millions of people on
system — is now used by hazardous materials workers, time around the globe. Spinoff 1976
armored vehicle crews, firefighters and NASCAR drivers.
Multiple sclerosis patients and children born without sweat Busting the dust
glands and a disorder that causes extreme sun sensitivity
Apollo astronauts needed a portable self-contained drill
wear built-in water circulation vests that provide them cool
capable of extracting core samples from 10 feet below the
comfort. A surgical personal cooling system has also been
lunar surface. Black & Decker used a specially developed
developed for medical personnel working in hot operating
computer program to optimize the drill’s motor and
room environments. And, horse saddle pads made with this
minimize power consumption. Refinement of the technology
technology can lower the horse’s temperature by 4 to 6
eventually led to the cordless vacuum cleaner called the
degrees. Another innovation includes a liquid-cooled bra that
Dustbuster. It has no hose, no cord, is 14 inches long, and
aids in the detection of cancer using infrared thermography.
also comes with a storage bracket that also serves as a
By increasing the temperature difference between normal
recharger. Spinoff 1981
and cancerous tissue through cooling, differentiation
becomes more apparent on thermograph. Spinoff 1979, 1982
and 1989

Precise prescription doses

Under one of the earliest contracts awarded during the
Apollo lunar landing program, Parker Hannifin Corporation
developed and produced equipment for controlling the flow
of propellants into the mammoth engines of the Saturn
Moonbooster. Today, Parker is supplying the huge valves
that control propellant flow from the Space Shuttle’s external
fuel tank to the engines of the Shuttle Orbiter as well as the
“peanut valve,” named for its small size. In 1977, NASA and
Parker created the Programmable Implantable Medication
System (PIMS) for continuous, computer-directed delivery
of precisely metered medication — insulin, for example —
within a patient’s body. Spinoff 1988
Crossing Boundaries Fueling alternative energy
Many technologies that began their journey to the Moon Liquid methane is becoming an energy alternative to
have crossed boundaries here on Earth, reaching vast expensive oil as a power source for automotive vehicles.
commercial markets for a kaleidoscope of uses. Methane, which is the principal component of natural gas,
costs less than half as much as gasoline, and its emissions
Digital are a lot cleaner than those from gasoline or diesel engines.
enhancements During the Apollo program, Beech Aircraft Corporation’s
Boulder Division developed expertise in producing fuel
Estee Lauder
storage tanks for liquid methane, a “cryogenic” fuel that
uses digital image
must be supercooled to remain liquid. The company has
analyzers and
since designed a system to convert cars and trucks to liquid
software based
methane operation. Liquid methane must be stored at a
on NASA lunar
temperature of 260 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. An
research to evaluate
optional twin-fuel system allows operators to use either
cosmetic products.
liquid methane or gasoline fuel. Spinoff 1982
Digital image
processing brings
out subtleties
otherwise
undetectable and
allows better
determination of
product’s effectiveness. This process allows Estee Lauder
to quantify changes in skin surface form and structure
caused by application of cosmetic preparations. NASA’s
digital imaging technology has also been used for CAT
scans, MRIs, radiography, microscopy in medicine as
well as various industrial and manufacturing uses.
Spinoff 1986, 1988 and 1990

Metallic mania
Insulation barrier made of aluminum foil laid over a core of
mylar protected astronauts and their spacecraft’s delicate
instruments from radiation as they ventured to the Moon So you need a sow
nearly four decades ago. Today, the metallic material has
In swine farming, 15 to 25 percent of piglets die before
found its way into numerous commercial products on Earth.
weaning, posing a serious economic problem for hog
Its reflective properties offer insulation and protection for
producers. Sometimes a sow will accidentally crush her
cars, trucks, homes and
piglets or she will reject or abuse a piglet. Frequently a
even food. Woven into a
litter is oversized and the sow cannot accommodate all
metallic blanket, a
her piglets for nursing or is just unable to lactate due to
shimmery shield now
physical disorders. Farmatic Inc’s Robotic Sow releases
protects all walks of life
a prescribed amount of formula from a refrigerated
from outdoor adventurers
compartment into a warming chamber, where milk is
exposed to extreme
heated to the desired temperature. At feeding time a heat
weather conditions to
lamp simulating a sow’s body warmth is automatically
emergency medical
turned on and the machine emits rhythmic grunts like a
patients who experience
mother pig summoning her piglets. As piglets scamper to
sudden body-temperature
their mechanical mother, a panel across the front opens to
drops. The same barriers
expose the row of nipples. The automated sow incorporates
that block heat and cold
NASA technology derived from miniature electronic heat
have also been used to
pumps and heating/cooling systems originally designed
muffle engine and exhaust
for Apollo spacecraft. The mechanical mother comes in
noise. Spinoff 1995
two models: 8 or 16 artificial nipples. Spinoff 1987

For additional information about NASA’s spinoffs, visit:

http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff.html