Have you ever wondered how space research and exploration impacts your lives? This is the question asked by NASA. According to the American agency, the technologies developed for space are the source of billions of euros in savings and benefits, as well as tens of thousands of jobs. Above all, they are the starting point for a better quality of life World Famous Magazine. Here are a few examples.
From space vehicles to our kitchens
When space vehicles enter Earth 's atmosphere , they must withstand extremely high temperatures. Heat shields have thus been devised by NASA engineers to protect them. The ceramic one invented for the supersonic X-33 and X-34 planes for example, launchers that can be brought up to 11 times the speed of sound . Once these materials have been made available for a commercial license, manufacturers take them up and modify them to adapt them to devices closer to us, such as our ovens or our boilers.
From the moon to fires
The astronauts sent to the Moon needed for air to breathe. And it was the Apollo program that later inspired the manufacture of lightweight, smaller breathing equipment such as those used by our firefighters today when fighting the flames.
From solar sails to tennis rackets
To control the vibrations and deformations undergone by certain structures - including airplanes, helicopters and solar sails - NASA has developed a deviceinexpensive piezoelectricthe size of a playing card. Today, it is used to improve the performance of tennis rackets, but also skis and baseball bats.
Missiles to our mouths
The alumina polycrystalline translucent . This material was first designed to participate in missile tracking . Then, orthodontic specialists took an interest in it and used it to imagine effective and durable dental appliances while being visually attractive since they were almost invisible.
Benefits of microgravity for our eyes
It is thanks to the microgravity environment offered by the Space Station that researchers have been able to develop a new model of contact lenses. News Menk Worn overnight, they reshape the cornea and offer people with mild to moderate myopia better vision once the lenses are removed in the early morning. They are also less sensitive to bacteria than traditional lenses.
From the Space Station to our homes
In the International Space Station , plants release of ethylene . And in the absence of convection , it remains in the direct environment of plants and accelerates their decomposition. To eliminate the problem, NASA engineers came up with photocatalytic oxidation which allows titanium dioxide exposed to ultraviolet light to react with ethylene to turn it into harmless byproducts. A system that is now being implemented to purify the air in hospitals, offices and even our homes. Because it has also been shown to be effective on organic compounds, pathogens and molds.
From rovers to coffee machines
The derivative integral proportional governors were designed, among other things, to help rovers maintain a constant speed, even over rough terrain. Their role: to continuously correct the output of a controlled system by means of feedback loops . An expertise that a NASA intern decided to use for the benefit of a coffee maker that controls its pressure and operating temperature with amazing precision .
From space labs to skin creams
It was by discovering that freed from the constraints of gravity , cells form complex 3D structures that NASA had the idea of developing a bioreactor that simulates microgravity. This system makes it possible to use human fibroblast agents to enrich anti- wrinkle creams and more generally skin creams, making them a priori more effective.
From satellite imagery to ski slopes
To study environmental changes and terrestrial landscapes by satellite, NASA has developed a series of optical filters. One of them will block up to 95% of the blue light emitted by the sun . Enough to allow skiers who are particularly exposed to it to better distinguish the details of the terrain on which they operate.
From Columbia to athletics tracks
During its investigation to determine how a piece of foam could have caused such catastrophic damage to the space shuttle Columbia, NASA resorted to a system known as high-speed stereo photogrammetry. This system has since also made it possible to analyze the behavior of marathon runners' feet when they hit the ground and thus to design high performance shoes.
