1. Freeze dried Snack Food
In order to give NASA astronauts some more appetizing and healthy foods, NASA started experimenting with the freeze drying process. This process extracts water by dehydration at low temperatures to prevent spoiling and also reduces the total weight of the food by almost 80%. A company called Action Products International captured on this process and has been making freeze-dried ice creams, apples, bananas, strawberries, french fries, and cheese pizza. [Paper in PDF format]
2. Pee Purifier
In order for astronauts to always have drinkable water for their journeys, NASA’s Advanced Water Recovery Systems Development team created a filter bioreactor to convert the astronauts’ waste into drinking water (no word on whether it has actually been used). [Paper in PDF format]
3. Hospital Robot
Named the QC Bot, this rover-like machine has already been employed in a number of hospitals in the United States and globally. The QC bot helps out with transporting various items, delivering medications, or taking out the trash. [Paper in PDF format]
4. Oxidative Stress Supplements
In order to make sure astronauts get their vitamins and avoid radiation or damage to skin cells, NASA teamed up with Houston-based company AmeriSciences LP to come up with some lightweight, low volume products such as multivitamin supplements AS10 Life, MM6 and Omega-3 fatty acid EZ Omega+D. In 2011, AmeriSciences LP started offering these products to consumers to help reduce nutrient deficiency and oxidative stress. [Paper in PDF format]
5. Anti-Ice Solutions
To ensure that people are safe while going to work or school during the snowy season, an Ohio-based company Midwest Industrial Supply Inc, using NASA technology, invented an agent that could enable track switches and metal to be free from snow and ice so they can still be operable. [Paper in PDF format]
6. Speech Recognition GPS
In order to make it safer and quicker for pilots to enter their flight plan hands-free into the GPS, NASA and VoiceFlight Systems LLC teamed up to build speech recognition technology that would make it safer for pilots so they won’t get distracted from turning knobs that were used traditionally. [Paper in PDF format]
7. Dichroic Glass Art
Dichroic Glass was used by NASA to protect astronauts from unfiltered sunlight. Due to the metal present in the glass, it is sufficient to protect humans, computers, and spacecrafts from harmful radiation. However, Jan Lewczenko, a crystal artist, used this NASA technology to create magical-looking reflections and colors on his artwork. [Paper in PDF format]
8. Comfortable Underwear
To keep astronauts comfortable in their space gloves, NASA used PCMs (or Phase Change Materials) to absorb heat and create a cooling effect. Years later, in March 2011, Wisconsin-based company, Jockey International, basing their product on this NASA technology, released a line of underwear that was capable of regulating the temperature and reducing sweat. They even had football star Tim Tebow wearing it on and off the field. Yes that alone would make for quite a headline. [Paper in PDF format]
9. Nano Hair Styling
Using nanosilver particles and special ceramics he had learned from NASA, Farouk Shami, owner of a hair care and styling product manufacturer, incorporated them into his hair tool and products. His improved products afterwards created self-disinfecting surfaces, smoother and softer hair, and improved moisture retention. [Paper in PDF format]
10. Hand Held Explosive Detectors
Using the same technology used on the Mars Rover, Ion Applications used NASA’s ion mobility spectrometer to give US law enforcement easier tools to check packages and vehicles for dangerous chemical or explosive hazards. [Paper in PDF format]
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