Topic

Environmentally Friendly Process for Battery Recycling

A solvent leaches cobalt and lithium for reuse from spent batteries.

Polyimide Foam Offers Safer, Lighter Insulation

Solimide can now be found somewhere in 90 percent of commercial airliners in the western world and almost every ship in the U.S. Navy uses it for thermal and acoustic insulation.

Facility Focus: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

See how NOAA provides daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, climate monitoring, and more.

Data Visualization Platform Helps Missions Fly

OpenMCT can display streaming and historical data, imagery, timelines, procedures, and other data visualizations, all in one place, and can be quickly configured and reconfigured.

Acoustic Interactions Change Materials at the Atomic Level

Interaction of sound and light reveals new information of a crystal's quantum properties.

Doppler Lidar Makes Self-Driving Cars Safer

For an autonomous vehicle to travel urban streets safely, it must be able to “see.” Navigational Doppler lidar supplies data to an onboard computer that makes it possible to identify buildings, people, and other vehicles.

Robotic “Cockroach” Explores Underwater Environments

This microbot can walk on land, swim, and walk underwater.

New Imaging Technique Measures Unseen Flows

NASA scientists have long sought better ways to observe the behavior of these fluids in zero gravity.

Catalysis Approach Reduces Carbon Dioxide to Methane

This approach is a cost-effective way to convert carbon dioxide gas into methane.

Aerogel Insulations Save Millions in Industrial Applications

Twenty-four of the world’s top 25 refineries use Aspen Aerogels insulation, as do most of the largest chemical companies.

Micro Device Detects Ebola Virus Using Bio-Sensors

The device can be used to pre-screen for the virus using gene-editing assays before those infected can travel and expose others.

Revolutionary Battery Replacement Leads to a New Humidity Sensor

As NASA engineers were working on a new idea for a battery, they accidentally created a new kind of humidity sensor.

Design Treatment for Advanced Metals Enables Easier Machining

Applying a surface-active agent makes metal easier to cut and shape into parts and pieces.

Pressure Vessels Improve Transportation of Liquid Fuels

NASA stores fuel in composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs)—an early NASA invention—like those in the space shuttle Endeavour’s orbiter maneuvering system.

Space Station Research Platform Paves the Way for Zero-G Manufacturing

Experimental modules called CubeLabs enable zero-gravity research in plant biology, microbiology, medical device manufacturing, and more.

Rocket Expertise Assists Transition to Green Energy

Surprisingly, NASA’s rocket expertise is making energy production, a significant contributor to climate change, less damaging and more cost-effective

5 Ws of 3D Modeling for the Visually Impaired

A touch-based display mimics the geometry of 3D objects designed on a computer.

Smaller, Cheaper Lasers Can Detect Gas, Monitor Structures, Take Tissue Images

Freedom Photonics later developed a laser for NASA's Methane Sounder.

Ruthenium-Doped Thermoelectric Materials

These robust materials convert excess heat energy into electricity.

Virtual Airspace Hosts a Training Program for Air Traffic Managers

A NASA team is developing a Test Bed, that hosts simulations of air traffic, sometimes in real time.

Breathable Electronic Skin Using Nanofiber Substrate

This electronic skin can track heart rate, respiration, muscle movement, and other health data.

Weight-Estimating Software Helps Design Urban Air Taxis

Thanks in part to NASA funding, M4 Engineering Inc. has designed software that quickly and accurately predicts the weight of UAV structures.

Separation Device Launches New Science Payloads

To reach its destination, the IBEX spacecraft needed two rocket engines, which had to be carefully separated from the spacecraft during flight.

Optical Window for Far-IR Instruments Using Thin TOPAS® Film

This thin film can be used for ground-based and airborne applications in aircraft, balloons, and other flight missions.

Printed Polymer Makes Integrated Airplane Parts

In 2019, engineers test-fired a 3D rocket engine combustion chamber at Marshall Space Flight Center.

New on the Market: January 2020

Processors, imaging sensors, dimensioning systems, and more.