STEM-centric Lesson
Warm-Up Question: What do all of these
items have in common?
Day One Objectives
TSWBAT:
• Investigate different NASA technologies and
relate their findings to products they use in
their daily lives.
• Discover and discuss how NASA technologies
can branch out to many different STEM careers.
What are NASA Spinoff
Technologies?
• CLICK HERE TO PLAY
VIDEO
• NASA spinoff
technologies are
technologies
developed for
applications in space
but have been
modified for use in
products to improve
lives here on Earth.
Gallery Walk – NASA Spinoff
Technologies
• With your group, spend five minutes at each station
exploring different NASA technologies and how they
were engineered into new, everyday products.
• Read the display and use the laptop to research facts
about the technology at each station. Use the NASA
database and Google.
• Fill in your Gallery Walk handout as you make your
way through each station.
Click here to view the NASA Spinoff Database
Gallery Walk – Class Discussion
Share with the class what
you discovered
Review Questions – Gallery Walk
• Were you surprised to see any products that you currently use
on the NASA Spinoff product list?
• Give a description of a product from one of the stations you
visited.
• What was the original NASA technology?
• Who partnered with NASA to turn NASA’s original product
into something new?
• What was or are the new products?
• How might you use this technology to create a unique
spinoff?
• What types of STEM careers or jobs do you think could be
associated with the creation of these different types of
products? Just careers with NASA?
Close to Home
NASA’s Goddard Space and Flight Center
View the next two slides to see NASA Spinoff products created at
Goddard Space and Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Spinoffs from NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center
• By adapting a star-mapping algorithm used for the
Hubble Space Telescope, endangered animals are able
to be tracked using spot patterns.
Researchers track
polar bears by using
the bears’ unique
whisker spot
patterns to match
photographs taken
by researchers and
tourists.
Spinoffs from NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center
• Hierarchical Segmentation (HSEG) software organizes an
image’s pixels for advanced analysis. Recursive
Hierarchical Segmenting (RHSEG) Pre-Processing
Software, enhances the usability of HSEG and now
provides 3-D data analysis.
Originally developed for
remote Earth sensing
applications, RHSEG organizes
pixels into regions based on
spectral similarity. Specific
features impossible to
distinguish by other methods
are able to be isolated.
Day Two Objectives
TSWBAT:
•
Investigate different NASA technologies by utilizing
components of an interactive webpage.
•
Continue to discover and discuss how NASA
technologies can branch out to many different STEM
careers.
NASA Spinoff Technologies – Timeline
Pass out the NASA Spinoff Timeline - click here to view the timeline
Now conduct the Group Share Activity based
off of the Timeline
NASA Home and City
Use this interactive website to explore many other
NASA technologies that are used in everyday life.
CLICK HERE
Day Three Objectives
TSWBAT:
• Create a product template to demonstrate how
NASA technologies can be partnered with other
companies to design new products.
How are NASA Technologies Turned
into Spinoff Products?
• Read the “temperfoam” article together and
complete the product template as a class.
• First, view the next four slides to view the product
template and samples of Maryland specific NASA
technologies to get an idea for what to write in your
product template for the “temperfoam”.
Click here to view the webpage of NASA's
partnership program
Name of Product: ______________________________________________
sketch of product
Name of Research Center and Location:
____________________________________
____________________________________
NASA Technology
 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Partnership
 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
 __________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Benefits
 _______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
 _______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
 _______________________________________
_______________________________________
Monitors Track Vital Signs for Fitness and Safety
Ames Research Center
Zephyr Technology
Annapolis, Maryland
NASA Technology
 The unique conditions of microgravity can be
debilitating to astronauts, causing everything from
mild disorientation to nausea to severe vomiting
 In order to combat these symptoms, NASA has
devised a variety of equipment to induce and monitor
the physiological problems caused by microgravity
Partnership
 Under a Space Act Agreement, NASA conducted its
study in partnership with Zephyr, an innovator in
physiological status monitoring technology
 Zephyr’s unique equipment served NASA’s purposes
well; and NASA’s expertise benefited Zephyr, which
used the experience to improve its product
 Work continues with an International Space Act
Agreement to study fatigue in flight crews
Spinoff 2011
Benefits
 The BioHarness is Zephyr’s primary product for
monitoring physiological status
 Well-suited for fitness applications, it is used by
numerous professional sports teams; Under
Armour will soon be making a BioHarness shirt
 Zephyr has adapted its technology for use with
the military, first responders, and firemen
Consumer Goods
Frameworks Coordinate Scientific Data Management
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Apache Software Foundation (ASF)
Forest Hill, Maryland
NASA Technology
 NASA’s Planetary Data System (PDS) is an evergrowing archive of data products delivered from
robotic missions
 To help researchers access the information they
need, JPL designed the Object Oriented Data
Technology (OODT) framework to archive PDS data
Partnership
Benefits
 JPL targeted ASF, a nonprofit, open-source industry
leader, as an ideal partner to transfer OODT
 Apache OODT version 0.1 is available for public
consumption and is currently used by The
National Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles, and other organizations
 ASF provides infrastructure and leadership for
housing, distributing, and managing the project
 ASF placed OODT in their incubation program,
which eventually resulted in an Apache Top-Level
Project designation—the first NASA project to
receive this distinction
Spinoff 2011
 Since the technology is open source, it is
receiving attention and development from
programmers all over the world
Health and Medicine
Simulation Tools Model Icing for Aircraft Design
Glenn Research Center
American Kestrel Company, LLC
Ithaca, New York
NASA Technology
 Water in the atmosphere is prone to freeze on
airframes, wings, turbines, and engines
 To enhance aviation safety, NASA developed the
LEWICE ice accretion simulation software
 Its versatility, ease of use, and speed make LEWICE
the premier ice-shape generation program
Partnership
 American Kestrel Company, LLC (AKC) provides
consulting services to aircraft manufacturers in the
field of aviation safety and icing
 AKC improved LEWICE’s user interface and formed
a partnership with Glenn Research Center through a
Space Act Agreement, allowing AKC to distribute the
updated program internationally
Spinoff 2011
Benefits
 AKC’s modified program, LEWINT, adds a user
interface, analysis tools, and automated plotting
 The software reduces testing times and latestage design changes, saving money and
reducing risks
 Since 2007, AKC has licensed LEWINT to 25
customers, rivaling LEWICE’s popularity
Public Safety
Day Four Objectives
TSWBAT:
• Analyze text to decipher a specific NASA
technology and its influence on modern
products.
• Model their product template based on class
examples presented the previous day.
• Work in groups to discuss NASA technologies
and communicate their responses to the class.
1.) Number the paragraphs to make group discussions of the
article easier.
2.) Read the article assigned to you quietly.
• As you read, circle key terms (product and
company names) and underline or highlight main
ideas.
• You may also write questions or notes in the
margin of the article.
3.) Get into your small reading groups and discuss
the article.
• As you discuss the article, try to focus
on the “questions to consider” shown
on the next slide.
Questions to Consider
• What was the original NASA technology and what was it
used for?
• How did NASA form a partnership to produce a new
product?
• What was the new product and what is it used for? Are their
multiple uses?
• Take this time to complete the product
handout template.
CLASS DISCUSSION
Allow a few of the groups to share their findings
Day Five Objectives
TSWBAT:
• Brainstorm project ideas and delegate specific
project tasks to group members.
• Create a timeline and or outline to organize the
time allotted for the project.
• Use technology to create a multimedia
presentation on their assigned NASA
technology.
What is the Challenge?
• You will create an original video,
PowerPoint presentation, or
backboard to demonstrate your
groups understanding of NASA’s
spinoff technologies and their
possible multiple uses both in
space and on Earth.
• Your mission is to raise the
general public awareness of
NASA’s missions and the benefits
of NASA’s technology transfer
efforts.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW
STUDENT SAMPLE VIDEO
Exit Slip
Based on the research you conducted throughout this
learning experience answer the following question:
How does technology used for space
exploration impact human lives
daily?