MRIs, cool suits, cordless tools among new products developed for astronauts

Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon more than 200,000 miles away from Earth. But today, the products and technology that got him there are in your pocket, medicine cabinet and living room.

Numerous products and technology considered commonplace today descended from innovations developed for Apollo astronauts.

These NASA advances, often developed in collaboration with private industry, cross a broad spectrum of uses. Here is a sampling of some of the better-known developments that have had far-reaching consumer impact:

Technology underlying CT and MRI scanning

Digital signal processing was pioneered at NASA during the Apollo lunar landings to enhance images of the moon that were beamed back to Earth. This kind of technology since has been used in diagnostic tools, particularly computerized tomography, CT scanning and magnetic resonance imaging, also known as MRI.

Cool suit technology

NASA’s cool suit technology — originally designed to keep astronauts cool during launch, using a water circulation system — is now used by hazardous materials workers, armored vehicle crews, firefighters and NASCAR drivers. Multiple sclerosis patients, children born without sweat glands, and those with a disorder that causes extreme sun sensitivity, wear water circulation vests.

Computer Microchip

Microchip technology — ubiquitous today — had its origins in the integrated circuits used in Apollo guidance systems. 

Cordless tools

Today’s cordless vacuum cleaners and other home tools, such as drills and saws, descended from devices used by Apollo astronauts whose tools required their own energy sources.

Ear thermometer

These body temperature detectors borrow NASA’s Apollo technology by using an infrared sensor to measure energy radiating from the eardrum. This method also is known as tympanic temperature measurement, which provides an accurate report of body temperature because of the location of the eardrum. It is recessed deeply inside the skull and is considered to directly reflect core body temperature.

Freeze-dried foods

Freeze-drying was an important method of transporting food to the moon for astronauts because the process reduced weight and increased the shelf life without eliminating vital nutrients.

Home insulation products

Maintaining ideal temperature was vital for astronauts who were confronted with the extremes in temperature while orbiting the two sides of the moon. On the dayside, the sun’s temperature can reach 250 degrees Fahrenheit, or higher. The moon has no atmosphere, so the sun’s radiation bombards the orb without the kind of filtering that occurs on Earth. On the nightside, temperatures can plunge to minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit. NASA’s insulation, which led to home insulation products, maintained a comfortable 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit regardless of which side of the moon astronauts were orbiting.

Memory foam

The material of which mattresses and shoe insoles are now made was once used in the Apollo missions for spacecraft seats to help absorb shock.

“Moon boot” materials

Footwear using similar products incorporated into the boots worn by astronauts has helped revolutionize athletic footwear, improving shock absorption and providing superior stability and motion control. The astronauts’ boots were high-technology footwear that prevented astronauts’ feet from being scorched by the moon’s hot, dusty surface.

Pulse-generator technology

The technology in defibrillators that sends a corrective electrical shock to correct a miscued heartbeat was first used by NASA. Apollo's pulse-generator technology was used in the onboard monitoring systems. In the 1980s it was adapted by the medical technology company Medrad for an implantable automatic pulse generator to continuously monitor the heart.

Satellite television

This kind of technology aided communication between Apollo astronauts and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Now, satellite communication systems comprise a vast global network transmitting images and sound.  

Smoke detector and home security systems

NASA invented the first electronic smoke detector system with technology to prevent false alarms. While this was important aboard a spacecraft, adapting it to a consumer product provided a new level of security for homeowners. Additionally, radio receiver technology used by Apollo astronauts has been adapted to home security systems, which feature multiple connections, that link numerous doors and windows in a building or home to a single base station.

Scratch/shatter-resistant plastic lenses

Astronauts needed helmets with visors that had excellent optics, performed well in a dark, dusty environment such as the moon and had features that weren’t available at the time in other eyewear. Astronaut visors, just as eyeglasses are now, were scratch- and shatter-resistant. The NASA visor advance was so important that in 1972, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a regulation requiring prescription lenses and sunglasses to be made of the scratch/shatter-resistant plastic.