Robonaut 2 (on left) became the first nonhuman to visit the International Space Station
Space is as hostile as environments come. Astronauts encounter temperatures that swing from 248 F (120 C) to -148 F (-100 C), and that’s just near Earth. The temperature of deep space plummets to -454 F (-270 C). Even the relative comfort of a space station—with its carefully regulated temperature, pressure and mix of gases—offers no escape from the ravages of prolonged exposure to microgravity.
If ever a setting called for robotic assistance, space is that place; but working in place of and, particularly, alongside humans requires a combination of strength, gentleness and dexterity unequaled by robots found anywhere else. Let’s take a look at …
NASA spin-off technologies find their way into our lives in unexpected ways. Shock-absorbing memory squeezed its way into Tempur-Pedic mattresses, football helmet padding, shoe insoles, hospital beds, prosthetics, cars, amusement parks and modern art, while an invention designed to decrease airplane drag made a huge splash in the competitive swimming arena. Find out how as I answer the question…
Why did NASA invent the ribbed swimsuit?
In 2007, astronaut Lisa Nowak thrust NASA “diapers” into the media spotlight when police in Orlando, Fla., charged her with the attempted kidnapping of U.S. Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman. Although the space agency’s absorption garments were soon the butt of late night talk show monologues everywhere, they were also an elegant solution to an unpleasant engineering challenge—so elegant, in fact, that the story of the moonstruck astronaut inspired at least one company to ape NASA’s design.
Exoplanet visualization by Supportstorm via Wikimedia Commons
Although astronomers and cosmologists long believed in the existence of planets outside our solar system, such worlds remained purely theoretical until as recently as the early 1990s. Since then, the ever-quickening pace of discovery has filled the roster of possible and confirmed planetary candidates with first tens, then hundreds and now thousands of distant worlds.
In this article, I’ll take you on a tour through the history of planet hunting and into its future. Along the way, we’ll take a look at some of the most significant discoveries, including the candidates most suitable for life as we know it.
More than just skyline blight, smog is an ozone-filled haze packed with the power to inflict or exacerbate ailments in even healthy adults, to say nothing of small children and the elderly. Unfortunately, although scientists know how it forms and even how to detect it, they cannot always predict where it will strike. Now, researchers at Arizona State University and University of California at Berkeley have embarked upon a project that uses NASA satellites to detect smog precursors over a much wider area than before. The research could enable scientists to spot an ozone plume in time to help communities prepare for its health effects.
