Sarah Jones: 2023 Horizon Project
Nasa Spinoffs
What benefits have been derived from past space exploration? Many.
Since 1976, NASA has published Spinoff, a series which details commercial products and services that have been developed with the help of the space agency.
Spinoff technologies are the aforementioned products and services released to the public, and are common within everyday life. They are created by utilizing NASA's research, technologies, facilities, and help from personnel. There have been around 2,000 profiled Spinoffs since its first publishing in 1976.
SURVEY
To study how vital these spinoff technologies are, I surveyed around 40 peers of varying ages on their usage of the following products: Phone cameras, GPS, glasses/sunglasses, CAT scans, LED lights, athletic shoes, recreational pools, dust-busters, ear thermometers, house insulation, wireless headsets, memory foam, freeze dried food, artificial limbs, modern smoke detectors, baby formula, computer mouses, PC's, microwaves, and air purifiers. Over 50% of people claimed to use a majority of these products at least once a week, with nearly 25% using them daily. Some of the more vague items, such as artificial limbs, did not share these results, however they were frequently mentioned later on as crucial to the well-being of those who need them in the last question of my survey. This last question was, "Are any of these listed items vital to your or somebody you knows quality of life?" Nearly 75% of the people who took this survey responded yes. Some answers to this question are listed below.