Lithium Battery Power Delivers Electric Vehicles to Market
A manufacturer of lithium-ion battery electric vehicles entered into a Space Act Agreement with Kennedy Space Center to determine the utility of lithium-powered fleet vehicles. NASA contributed engineering expertise for the car’s advanced battery management system and tested a fleet of zero-emission vehicles on the Kennedy campus. The company now offers a series of lithium electric vehicles aimed at the urban and commuter markets.
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Space Suit Technologies Protect Deep-Sea Divers
Through its work with NASA, a company has developed a suit for protecting divers who are called on to work in extreme and dangerous conditions, such as high pressure, toxic chemical spills, the hot waters of the Persian Gulf, and among chemical warfare agents.
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Space Age Swimsuit Reduces Drag, Breaks Records
Because of NASA’s experience in studying the forces of friction and drag, Speedo asked the Agency to help design a swimsuit for racing. The resulting suit reduces skin friction drag 24 percent more than the previous Speedo racing suit. The research seems to have paid off; 94 percent of gold medals in swimming at the 2008 Olympics were won in the new Speedo suit.
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Space Research Fortifies Nutrition Worldwide
An experiment into regenerative ecosystems evolved into one of the most widespread NASA spinoffs of all time—a method for manufacturing an algae-based food supplement that provides the nutrients previously only available in breast milk. A NASA partner now manufactures this supplement, and it can be found in over 90 percent of the infant formulas sold in the United States, as well as those sold in over 65 other countries.
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Polymer Coats Leads on Implantable Medical Device
An advanced material developed by NASA is now being used on thin metal wires connected to its implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy devices, for patients experiencing heart failure. The devices resynchronize the contractions of the heart’s ventricles by sending tiny electrical impulses to the heart muscle, helping the heart pump blood throughout the body more efficiently.
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Mars Cameras Make Panoramic Photography a Snap
Wide-screen panoramic photography technologies developed for the Mars rovers have found more “down-to-Earth” photographic and virtual exploration applications for consumers. With industry partners, NASA scientists created a prototype for the Gigapan robotic platform for consumer cameras, which automates the creation of highly detailed digital panoramas.
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