By Marlo Anderson – The Tech Ranch
Your pillow, your phone and even your handheld vacuum owe something to space research. Here’s the real list, plus three famous ‘NASA inventions’ that weren’t.
Memory Foam
In 1966, engineer Charles Yost invented memory foam under a NASA contract. The goal: safer airplane seats that soak up a crash. It squishes, then slowly bounces back, and today it’s in mattresses, pillows and more.
The Camera in Your Phone
NASA wanted tiny, light cameras for space missions. In the 1990s, Eric Fossum’s team at NASA’s JPL built a new kind of camera chip that uses less power and fits a whole camera onto one chip. Today, nearly every phone camera uses that idea.
From a Moon Drill to Your Vacuum
Apollo astronauts needed a battery-powered drill for Moon samples. Black & Decker built it with a motor designed to use very little power, and that work led to the cordless DustBuster.
The Ear Thermometer
Scientists measure the heat of stars and planets by their infrared glow. Diatek teamed up with NASA to read eardrums the same way, for temperature readings in seconds.
Glasses That Don’t Scratch
NASA developed a tough, clear coating to protect helmet visors from scratches. Sunglasses maker Foster Grant was first to license it, and now scratch-resistant lenses are everywhere.
Even Baby Formula
NASA studied algae as food and oxygen for long missions. That research turned up algae rich in nutrients called DHA and ARA, which are now in over 90% of U.S. infant formulas.
Bonus: NASA Did NOT Invent These
Tang came from General Foods in 1957, Velcro is a Swiss invention from the 1940s, and Teflon came from DuPont in 1941. NASA used them, and that made them famous.
More Space Travel, Explained
This is part of my Space Travel Explained series: big space questions, answered in plain English with simple animations. Watch the whole series on YouTube and subscribe to The Tech Ranch so you don’t miss the next one.
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