NASA Spinoffs Help Fight Coronavirus, Clean Pollution, Grow Food, More

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The interior of the Biomass Production Chamber at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida replicated the closed growing environment astronauts will use in space or on other planets to grow fresh crops. As the first controlled environment vertical farm in the United States, the chamber helped NASA provide critical data for the indoor farming industry. NASA scientists Bill Knott, left, and Tom Dreschel examine the growth of crops.

Credits: NASA

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NASA's 2022 Spinoff publication features more than 45 companies using NASA technology to create products and services here on Earth.

Credits: NASA

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U.S. astronaut Walter Cunningham writes with a Fisher Space Pen during the flight of Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight and the Space Pens first trip to space. The pens have been used on every crewed NASA mission since.

Credits: NASA

NASA's mission of exploration requires new technologies, software, and research which show up in daily life. The agencys Spinoff 2022 publication tells the stories of companies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs transforming these innovations into cutting-edge products and services that boost the economy, protect the planet, and save lives.

The value of NASA is not confined to the cosmos but realized throughout our country from hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs to world-leading climate science, understanding the universe and our place within it, to technology transfers that make life easier for folks around the world, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. As we combat the coronavirus pandemic and promote environmental justice and sustainability, NASA technology is essential to address humanitys greatest challenges.

Spinoff 2022 features more than 45 companies using NASA technology to advance manufacturing techniques, detoxify polluted soil, improve weather forecasting, and even clean the air to slow the spread of viruses, including coronavirus.

"NASA's technology portfolio contains many innovations that not only enable exploration but also address challenges and improve life here at home," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of the agencys Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in Washington. "Weve captured these examples of successful commercialization of NASA technology and research, not only to share the benefits of the space program with the publicbut to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs."