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It is easy to forget that all of the hard work, technology, and money that NASA pours into space research actually comes back down to Earth. In fact, many of NASA\u2019s missions and research focus on our planet! NASA also has many other projects with partners that use their research to enrich everyone\u2019s lives here on Earth- and this is not including such notable achievements\u00a0as satellite weather maps!<\/p>\n
The\u00a0NASA Spinoff<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0program was created over fifty years ago to facilitate the licensing and development of NASA\u2019s technologies for commercial use by other companies and agencies. This program helps \u201cspin off\u201d NASA\u2019s technology for use by others here on Earth and, in some cases, in space. To date, over\u00a02,000 spinoff technologies<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0have been documented by the NASA Spinoff program.<\/p>\n Some notable examples of NASA spinoffs include:<\/p>\n \u2026and many more!<\/em>\u00a0Check out this Wikipedia page for a more extensive list of the technologies that NASA has had a direct role in developing, many of which we now take for granted.<\/p>\n It is worth noting that there are a few technologies commonly thought to have been created by NASA that were actually independently developed. Tang is a great example; it was developed by General Foods in 1957 and attained fame when used during food testing by NASA in the 60s (even though some astronauts were not fans of the powdery, not-quite-orange juice). The microwave oven is another famous technology often falsely thought of as a NASA development. It was, in fact, created shortly after World War 2, when radar technicians discovered that it wasn\u2019t such a good idea to stand in front of active equipment! Thankfully, they found out via a melted candy bar and not from severe burns!<\/p>\n Every year, NASA releases a report on its program, and the\u00a02025 edition<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0of the NASA Spinoff magazine is now available! You can view the entire NASA Spinoff archive, dating back to 1976,\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Originally posted by Dave Prosper: May 2013 Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is easy to forget that all of the hard work, technology, and money that NASA pours into space research actually comes back down to Earth. In fact, many of NASA\u2019s missions and research focus on our planet! NASA also has many other projects with partners that use their research to enrich everyone\u2019s lives here [\u2026] Continue reading \n
Last Updated by Kat Troche: March 2025<\/em><\/p>\n