Innovation Now

When we look at the lunar landscape, we don’t just see rocks and dirt; we see the essential resources needed to support a human presence on the Moon.

Imagine a mountaineering expedition in a dark, uncharted world, where the hikers had to ability to generate a real-time map of the terrain.

Extraterrestrial life could be hiding in the salty subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

As melted ice crystals refreeze, ice accumulates inside an airplane engine core, which can cause temporary power loss, stalls, flameouts, or engine blade damage.

When our spacefaring musicians serenade the stars with instruments taken to space, they feel more connected to home.

ReachBot may one day sample ancient material that could reveal answers to some of Mars’ deepest secrets.

Smells are collections of very complex molecules. And until now, breaking them down into fundamental components was almost impossible.

Although both Spirit and Opportunity are now silent, the cold, dry environment of Mars will help preserve a long-lasting tribute to the victims who perished in the September attack.

This unique solar shield uses a new material capable of reflecting 99% of the light it receives from the Sun.

A team from NASA is working on aircraft designs that use a shape memory alloy to make wings fold in flight.

Using technology similar to what NASA used on the Apollo 15 mission, LIDAR could be used to create maps that would help firefighters find the path to safety.

By using billions of flight tracks and information collected from the FAA for the past 5 years, Sherlock can predict future air traffic, helping to maintain safety in our crowded skies.

This NIAC concept uses an equatorial constellation of CubeSats to map small orbital debris by detecting changes in plasma density produced by the debris.

Carefully organized boxes of colorful LEGO pieces help this engineer visualize the new ideas or provide inspiration for building new mechanisms.

Models of fires in space can be used to model house fires and train local firefighters.

Satellite images of Earth at night dramatically indicate how humans have shaped the planet and light up the darkness.

For fishermen, and for scientists studying Bluefin Tuna, key information comes from NASA satellite observations.

New microcapsule technique demonstrated on the International Space Station are fighting cancer tumors better than freezing or local chemotherapy alone.

Before the launch can proceed, all controllers are queried for a go/no-go status based on specific Do Not Launch criteria.

Seeing the rocket go from paper to tangible hardware is even more exciting as NASA prepares to launch SLS on its first journey into space.