Summary
- Teflon was not developed for space travel though it did play a significant role in the lunar program.
- But a great deal of today’s tech did indeed evolve from space travel, from smartphone cameras to CAT scanners.
- NASA even has a somewhat controversial claim that the laptop computer was a spinoff from space tech.
Ironically, the one technology everyone thinks was a spinoff from space travel is a myth: Teflon. But there are literally thousands of space technologies which have since made their way into everyday life, from LED lighting to CAT scans.
9
The Teflon Myth
If you stopped someone in the street and asked them to name one thing we wouldn’t have without space travel, it’s a near-certainty they’d say non-stick pans. The idea that this very slippery material, Teflon, was originally developed for the Moon missions is deeply embedded into popular culture. And yet it’s not true.
It is true that Teflon, more properly known as polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE, was crucial to the lunar program. We needed a material which was chemically inert and could withstand both extreme cold and extreme heat, and PTFE fit the bill perfectly. But the material was first discovered in 1938, and had been branded as Teflon and used in non-stick frying pans for a full decade before its first use in space.
But while our fried eggs would be safe from sticking to our pans with or without space travel, there’s a surprising list of hi-tech and lower-tech products whose development did indeed originate in the space program.
8
Smartphone Cameras
NASA needed digital cameras which were small enough to be accommodated in the limited space available in spacecraft, but which would also provide the resolution and image quality needed for scientific applications. Creating compact high-resolution sensors using the existing digital sensor technology in use at the time, CCD (charge-coupled device), was challenging because the signals from the sensors needed separate amplifier circuitry, making the camera modules bulky.
Researchers had been working for literally decades on an alternative technology known as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The advantage of CMOS was that it combines sensor and signal amplification in one unit, making it much more compact. But the problem with this had been that it generated a great deal of noise because the output voltage was affected by random fluctuations in the transistors. This reduced the quality to a level where it was too low for NASA use.
A team working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) solved this problem using a creative approach. Instead of using the absolute value of the voltage from each pixel, they instead measured the voltage before and after the photo was taken, and used the difference between the two as the signal. This method filtered out the impact of any random fluctuations.
The result was a camera module literally a third the size of CCD ones while still offering high-quality output. It was this ability to shrink a camera module into such a compact unit that made it practical to include them in smartphones.
7
Wireless Headphones
A mishap in NASA’s second crewed space flight was what led to the development of the first wireless headset, forerunner to the wireless headphones we all use today.
The agency explains that when the Liberty Bell 7 capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean after its successful flight in 1961, the explosive hatch unexpectedly blew off, letting water flood into the capsule. Command pilot Gus Grissom was forced to immediately bail out, leaving him alone in the water. Because all of the radio equipment was on board the capsule and could only be used by astronauts via a cable connection, all communication was lost, and the helicopter crew initially couldn’t spot him in the water. Fortunately Grissom was able to finally attract the attention of the helicopter and was successfully rescued, but it was that incident which led NASA to commission the development of a wireless headset that could be used inside spacesuit helmets.
When we today listen to our streaming music service over a pair of wireless headphones, it’s that near-disaster we have to thank.
6
Shock-Absorbing Trainers
If you own a pair of Nike Air Max trainers, or any trainer or shoe with air-filled soles or insoles, you’re wearing a technology first developed for spacesuits.
Spacesuits are heavy! The suits used in the Apollo missions weighed around 180 pounds, which essentially doubled the weight of the astronaut. That’s not a problem in weightless conditions or in low lunar gravity, but is a big problem on Earth where conventional cushioning completely compressed to eliminate all protection. NASA’s solution to this was essentially to inject air into the sole, providing high levels of compression-resistance. It’s that same approach used in Nike Air Max trainers today.
5
Cordless Power Tools and Dustbusters
One of the pain points of using anything from power tools like drills through to vacuum cleaners was that the power cord always seemed to get in the way. Today, battery-powered cordless power tools are the norm, as are small battery-powered vacuum cleaners like Dustbusters. Indeed, there’s a growing trend now toward larger cordless vacuum cleaners that are charged in a dock between uses.
That technology was originally developed for the Moon missions. Astronauts needed to extract core samples from as far as 10 feet beneath the surface, and that required a power drill with its own self-contained power supply. NASA commissioned Black & Decker to design what would be the first cordless drill, and the rest is, well, history.
4
Air Purifiers
One of the challenges NASA faced in thinking ahead to longer crewed missions to Mars and beyond was how to keep astronauts fed with fresh food. Growing plants on board spacecraft was the obvious solution, but the agency hit a problem. Plants give off a gas called ethylene as they grow, and the close confines of a spacecraft that builds up and causes them to decay. NASA needed a device to scrub the ethylene from the air.
The agency commissioned the University of Wisconsin–Madison to develop a specialized filter, and it was successfully used on board the Space Shuttle. Recognizing that the same tech could be used to remove other unwanted elements from the air, it led to the Airocide—an air purifier which removes everything from bacteria to volatile organic compounds. Today’s air purifiers apply this same technology.
3
Memory Foam
In the 1960s, NASA was looking for a shock-absorbing material which could be used to cushion impacts in everything from Apollo space capsules to seats used by test pilots in experimental aircraft. An aeronautical engineer called Charles Yost helped develop the Apollo recovery system and was subsequently commissioned by NASA to improve the crash protection of airline seats.
Yost developed a material initially known as “slow spring back foam” and later renamed to memory foam. Experiments showed that this material not only improved impact protection but also greatly enhanced comfort. Today the material is of course best known for its use in mattresses.
