When space technologies improve day-to-day life on Earth [Oct/2024]

NASA published the 2024 edition of its spinoff report, highlighting the most interesting technology transfers from space to other scientific fields.

Spinoffs are commercialised products or services incorporating NASA technologies, to the benefit of the public. NASA maintains a patent portfolio with more than 1,100 technologies and a software catalogue with hundreds of codes, making many of their technologies available to commercial companies.

Among the technologies presented in the 2024 report:

• Scouting robots designed initially for space that can be used as responders of gas leaks and other dangers on Earth

• A wildlife tracking system firstly introduced in low-earth orbit

• A Traffic Aware Strategic Aircrew Requests (TASAR) software turned into a commercial plane-routing technology that helps airlines save both time and fuel

• A radiation-resistant microbe that that survived NASA sanitisation efforts as well as 18 months in space is now used for an SPF-boosting sunscreen additive

• A device for clinical trials, research and outpatient, based on a smartwatch used to monitor astronauts for patients monitoring

To learn more about all the other technology transfers identified throughout 2024 and access the full report, please click here (please log-in to access the document).