NASA does more than explore space.
NASA-developed technologies have long been used to protect and clean up our planet — not just by us, but by all kinds of companies that take NASA inventions and turn them into everyday, Earth-benefiting products. NASA technology has helped planes fly farther on less fuel, powered cleaner ways to produce beverages from soda to fancy sparkling wines, and more.
But we’re just getting started. This technology transfer – of NASA inventions to the public – is a core part of our mission, and something we’re always working to do more of.
For Earth Day, check out this roundup of some of the ways NASA technology already keeps our planet healthy and some of the innovations that may prove to be the next generation of technology to reduce pollution and improve the environment.
Getting There with Cleaner Air
In the 1960s and ’70s, an engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Richard Whitcomb, was a titanic figure in aircraft research. Dubbed “the man who could see air” by the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Magazine, the NASA researcher’s insights led to significant improvements to aircraft efficiency — improvements that are saving fuel and lowering aircraft emissions to this day.
Among his other innovations, Whitcomb perfected what he called the supercritical wing, an inversion of what had been the traditional airplane wing profile, which significantly reduced aerodynamic drag.
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