Cell phones with cameras are just one of the spinoffs developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) that aid in the development of commercial products and services, said the administration's deputy chief technologist, Jim Adams.
Cell phones with cameras are just one of the spinoffs developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) that aid in the development of commercial products and services, said the administration's deputy chief technologist, Jim Adams.
Adams has worked for Nasa for 25 years and has been involved in space projects concerning 3D sun imagery and crop satellites and the Mars Exploration Rover mission.
He is currently working on the probe set to land on Pluto.
Adams gave a lecture entitled “How space exploration changes life on earth” on Wednesday, 12 March, the first day of Scifest Africa.
Before he began his formal presentation, Adams snapped three pictures of his audience with his cellphone, saying that his mom back home in the United States wanted to see who he would be talking to in South Africa.
Adams focused his lecture on “spinoffs” of technologies developed by Nasa, which spends $304 billion, similar to South Africa’s current GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $380 billion, on space research annually.
Adams demonstrated how space research is also beneficial for the economy and humankind.
Nasa’s space “spinoffs” include: a permanently-occupied lab in space where people from different countries live together for the betterment of mankind; The Hubble Space Telescope, which takes pictures of galaxies that we cannot view from earth; and the Mars Exploration Rover.
Other than cellphones with cameras, Nasa’s earth “spinoffs” include:
- aviation research (the blended wing and body design and fuel efficiency of airliners);
- BluBlocker sunglasses (BluBlocker used the technology behind NASA-designed UV and blue ray shielding screens used for astronauts);
- aerodynamic design of trucks;
- animal research (by using the same NASA-designed algorithm for detecting points in star fields, whale sharks and polar bears can be identified without harming the animal);
- load-sensors on escalators that ensure energy efficiency by only speeding up once people stand on them;
- emergency devices, such as the MicroPLB that is a location beacon that programmes information such as GPS details which has saved 30 000 lives;
- water provision in areas that do not have safe-drinking water through recycling and filtration;
- solar ray technology;
- power (solar ray technologies powered through fuel cells in space are now being used to power large buildings);
- and stadiums (the material used to design space suits is the same that is used to design stadiums because of affordability.
In the area of robotics, the ROBOglove (which senses what a person wants to do with their hand and allows for the human hand to be relaxed while still in the gripping position) and Exoskeleton (a device that is used to exercise in space which may aid people in walking in the future) have been Nasa contributions.
