Space Technology You Probably Use Every Day

Space programs are expensive, and one common defense of them is that the technology developed for spaceflight ends up improving life on Earth. That is true, though not always in the ways people repeat. Some famous examples are myths, while some of the most important contributions are things people use every day without knowing their origin. NASA tracks this through its Technology Transfer Program and has published an annual Spinoff report since 1976, documenting thousands of commercial products with roots in its research.

First, three myths

Tang. The orange drink mix was developed by General Foods in the 1950s. It became famous after astronauts used it on Gemini and Apollo missions, but NASA did not invent it.

Velcro. The hook-and-loop fastener was invented by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral in the 1940s, inspired by burrs sticking to his dog's fur. NASA used it widely, which helped make it well known.

Teflon. The nonstick material was discovered by chemist Roy Plunkett at DuPont in 1938, decades before spaceflight.

In your pocket

Phone camera sensors. Most digital cameras, including those in smartphones, use CMOS image sensors. In the 1990s, a team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory led by Eric Fossum developed the CMOS active pixel sensor, aiming to make cameras for spacecraft smaller and less power-hungry. The technology was licensed and became the basis for the cameras in billions of phones.

GPS. The Global Positioning System is run by the US Space Force and was built by the US military, not NASA, but it is space technology at its core: a constellation of satellites with extremely precise atomic clocks. It now underpins navigation, farming, shipping, banking and the timing of mobile phone networks.

Weather forecasts. Weather satellites, starting with TIROS-1 in 1960, transformed forecasting. Satellite data on clouds, temperature and moisture feeds the computer models behind every modern forecast and hurricane warning.

In the home

Memory foam. In 1966, an engineer named Charles Yost, working under a NASA contract at the Ames Research Center, developed a temperature-sensitive foam to improve seat cushioning and crash protection for aircraft. The material later found its way into mattresses, pillows, shoes and medical padding.

Scratch-resistant lens coatings. A coating developed at NASA's Ames Research Center to protect equipment such as astronaut helmet visors was licensed to a sunglasses company and contributed to scratch-resistant coatings for eyeglass lenses.

Water filtration. Systems developed to purify water for spacecraft and the International Space Station, where most water is recycled, have influenced filtration and purification technology used on Earth, including in some disaster relief settings.

Cordless tools. Black & Decker was already making cordless drills before Apollo, but it worked with NASA to develop a battery-powered drill for collecting lunar soil samples. That work on lightweight, efficient motors and batteries fed into later cordless tools and products such as handheld vacuums.

In medicine

Infrared ear thermometers. Technology for measuring the temperature of stars and planets by detecting infrared radiation was adapted, with help from JPL, into thermometers that read body temperature from the eardrum in seconds.

Medical imaging. Image processing techniques developed to enhance pictures of the Moon taken by spacecraft were among the influences on digital imaging methods used in medicine.

Freeze-dried food and food safety. NASA and the Pillsbury Company developed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system, known as HACCP, to keep astronaut food safe. It became a foundation of modern food safety regulation worldwide.

In safety and the outdoors

Space blankets. Thin, metallized plastic film was developed by NASA in the 1960s, and versions of it were used as insulation on spacecraft and satellites. Lightweight emergency blankets made from similar reflective film are now standard in first aid kits, marathon finish areas and mountain rescue packs, where they help reduce heat loss.

Firefighter equipment. In the 1970s, NASA worked with firefighting organizations to apply lessons from spacesuit and life-support design to firefighter breathing systems, producing lighter air tanks and masks that reduced the physical burden on firefighters.

Heat-resistant materials. Materials developed to protect spacecraft from the heat of launch and re-entry have influenced fire-resistant fabrics and insulation used in protective clothing, buildings and race cars.

In the air and on the road

Aircraft design. NASA's aeronautics research, which predates the space program through its predecessor NACA, contributed to features such as winglets, the upturned wing tips found on many airliners, which reduce drag and fuel use.

Tire and brake research. NASA studies of how aircraft tires behave on wet runways led to the practice of cutting grooves into runway surfaces to reduce hydroplaning, a technique also adopted on some highways.

On a larger scale

Earth observation. Satellites such as the Landsat series, running since 1972, provide a continuous record of land use, forests, crops, cities and glaciers. The data is used to track deforestation, plan farming, respond to disasters and measure climate change.

Satellite communications. Communications satellites carry television, phone calls in remote areas and, increasingly, internet access. Large constellations of low Earth orbit satellites, such as SpaceX's Starlink, now offer broadband in rural areas and at sea, although they have raised concerns about space debris and their effect on astronomy.

Solar power. Spacecraft have used solar cells since the late 1950s, starting with Vanguard 1 in 1958. Demand for efficient, reliable cells in space helped drive early improvements in photovoltaic technology.

Research done in orbit

The International Space Station, continuously occupied since November 2000, works as a laboratory where the near absence of gravity changes how fluids, flames, crystals and living cells behave. Experiments there have studied how bones and muscles weaken without gravity, research relevant to osteoporosis and to people confined to bed on Earth. Growing protein crystals in microgravity can produce larger, more orderly crystals, which helps scientists work out their structures for drug research. Results from orbit are usually one input among many rather than a single breakthrough, but the station has hosted thousands of experiments from researchers in many countries.

Why it matters

Spinoff examples are sometimes overstated, and many technologies have several parents. But the pattern is real. Building equipment that has to be small, light, reliable and power-efficient in an extreme environment often produces engineering advances that turn out to be useful elsewhere. As commercial spaceflight grows, with private companies launching satellites, cargo and crew, the flow of technology between space and ordinary life is likely to continue, in both directions.