Re: What contributions to society, used in everyday life, has NASA made?

Hi Lauren,

NASA has made so many contributions to everyday life that it's hard to know where to begin. NASA technology has resulted in a wide variety of improved medical devices, household smoke detectors, the "bar code scanners" found in the checkout line at most supermarkets, various kinds of hiking equipment, improved babyfood, better weather forecasts, improved school buses, and of course a big chunk of the computer industry. NASA keeps track of about 50 such "spinoffs" a year, but there are lots more which don't get recorded officially. You can find the official NASA list at http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto, but it's kind of technical and doesn't always point out the ones which most affect everyday life. There's another list at http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html which is put together by a group of space enthusiasts, and there's a different NASA list at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/spinoff.html which might be interesting.
If you want to talk about this some more, you can reach me via the Mad Scientist Network or directly by email at StevenLevin@we.mediaone.net .