You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

After NASA developed scratch-resistant astronaut helmets, the agency gave a license to Foster-Grant Corporation to continue experimenting with scratch-resistant plastics, which now comprise most sunglasses and prescription lenses.

[Lee Stewart]

During the Apollo moon landings, NASA partnered with Black & Decker to invent various battery-powered tools for drilling and taking rock samples in space. This led to the creation of the ultra-light, compact, cordless DustBuster.

[Lee Stewart]

Technology used to track astronauts' eyes during periods in space in order to assess how humans' frames of reference are affected by weightlessness has become essential for use during LASIK surgery. The device tracks a patient's eye positions for the surgeon.

[Lee Stewart]

In the 1970s, NASA developed filtration systems that utilized iodine and cartridge filters to ensure that astronauts had access to safe, tasteless water. This filtering technology is now standard.

[Lee Stewart]

After the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company invented the material used in NASA's Viking Lander parachute shrouds, the company began using it in its everyday radial tires. The material is stronger than steel and adds thousands of miles of life to the tires.

[Lee Stewart]

In partnership with the Honeywell Corporation, NASA improved smoke detector technology in the 1970s, creating a unit with adjustable sensitivity to avoid constant false alarms.

[Lee Stewart]

After NASA and Ceradyne invented a clear material that could protect radar equipment without blocking the radar's signal, Unitek Corporation/3M teamed up with Ceradyne, using the material to invent invisible braces.

[Lee Stewart]

In the 1990s, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory invented a light, miniature imaging system that required little energy in order to take high quality photographs from space. This technology has become standard in cell phone and computer cameras.

[Lee Stewart]

NASA's digital signal technology, originally used to recreate images of the moon during the Apollo missions, is the underlying technology that makes CAT scans and MRIs possible.