Innovation Now

To improve runway safety, a graded section at the end of commercial airport runways helps stop a plane in the event an aircraft overruns the landing area.

Taking to the sky is what NASA does best and NASA’s technology portfolio includes design improvements for the next generation of UAVs.

LEMUR has led to a new generation of walking, climbing, and crawling robots that could be used on future missions.

Researchers built this cloud controller from scratch using technology that is free and available to all.

A moment of serendipity helped researchers spring into action.

While other NASA sensors can be used to monitor a vessel’s structural health, this sensor is a natural fit for monitoring engine rooms on ships at sea.

Explosive volcanic ash is made up of microscopic silica that can scratch aircraft windshields and shut down engines in flight.

Precise radio navigation, using radio frequencies to determine position, is vital to the success of deep space exploration missions.

Communicating the diversity of our world, this gold-plated copper disk contains sounds made by surf, wind, and thunder; spoken greetings from Earth-people; and an eclectic collection of music.

When his football career as a wide receiver was cut short because of an injury, Leland Melvin pursued his passion for engineering.

During the Apollo missions only a very small part of the Moon’s surface was explored. Artemis astronauts will push the boundaries of lunar exploration.

Ice crystal contrails may have a larger, more immediate impact on climate than carbon dioxide emissions because they produce localized increases in temperature.

No one is more familiar with Orion’s Heat Shield technology than Luis Saucedo, the Functional Aero Manager for Orion’s Thermal Protection System.

The James Webb Space Telescope is one of the most ambitious and technically complex missions NASA has ever set its focus on.

This shoebox-size weather satellite phoned home one last time before burning up in Earth’s atmosphere last December, but not before proving that big things really can come in small packages.

Today the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Program focuses on reducing wildlife hazards for flights in the air and on the ground.

When coupled with a drone and GPS, this UV detection system can be used to remotely inspect power grids.

Cryogenics is the study of things at very low temperatures and NASA is changing the way they keep things cool.

Many of the technologies developed for Robonaut are being adapted for use on Earth.

This Shapeshifter robot can fly in the sky, tumble over terrain, cruise into caves, float like a boat, and swim under seas.