乐生活Ah, let’s go on today to talk about Apollo’s 50th anniversary of landing on the moon (though a little late), "What does Apollo have to do with you?"
The answer is: the relationship is still… It’s a big one.
An engineer who worked for Apollo used the polyether elastomer (Hytrel) supplied by DuPont Co for the moon shoe to replace the foam material in the middle of the shoe, that is, the part between the sole and the insole, which fully absorbs the impact of weight. American sports brand AVIA first made this material into their products (Figure 1).
– The moulding technology (blow rubber moulding) used by NASA in manufacturing spacesuit helmet is also used in shoemaking.
– Another NASA engineer, Frank Rudy, introduced another technology to Nike, which involves casting small connected bubbles into the insoles for shock absorption. This is the famous Nike Air. (Figure 2 shows the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo’s lunar landing by NIKE, AirMax 90…)
– To sample the lunar surface, Apollo’s astronauts carried a tiny, ultra-light, wireless electric drill. Black & amp; Decker, a company that supplies electric drills to NASA, uses specially developed chip technology to regulate the strength and speed of motors and to save as much power as possible. Later, the technology was improved to become the core of DustBuster, a hand-held vacuum cleaner. (Figure 3)
– After Apollo 1 caught fire and three astronauts died, NASA chose a glass fiber coated with Teflon to replace the flammable nylon material. This material has high strength, light weight and flexibility, but it can be fully insulated and flame retardant, and has higher insulation efficiency. Later, Birdair, a company that supplies materials for space suits, turned to this technology for construction. Many stadiums around the world now have Tensioned Membrane Structures (Fig. 4), which are insulated and transparent, saving lighting and air conditioning costs. Teflon coatings also reduce erosion caused by rain and moisture.
– The life support system designed by Apollo uses silver and copper ions to purify recycled water, killing bacteria and algae. Silver ions (Ag+) dissociated in water can strongly act on the mercapto (-SH) of protease in bacteria, thus inactivating protease and causing bacterial death. When the bacteria are killed by silver ions, silver ions can be free from the bacterial corpse and kill the next bacteria. Therefore, very few silver ions can kill a lot of bacteria and algae, and will not cause harm to the human body. Caribbean Clear Inc, the company that provided the technology for NASA, later used silver-copper ion technology to purify swimming pools, spas, etc. (to replace chlorine). Chlorine volatilizes and emits toxic and irritating substances such as hypochlorite and trihalomethane.
– Another company, Carefree Clearwater, has begun to design alternative faucet components to provide simple water purification facilities for people in underdeveloped areas. (Fig. 5)
– In the early development of the Apollo lunar landing program, NASA signed a contract with a company called Parker Hannifin Corporation to develop and produce a device that accurately pumps fuel from the fuel tank into the engine in droplets. After the lunar landing, NASA helped Parker turn to the pharmaceutical industry, using precise chip control techniques for drugs, such as insulin for diabetic patients all day long.
Almost all the spacecraft and rockets in the Apollo era adopted the polymetallic foam combined with metal as the thermal insulation layer. The material design of this insulation is also used in Alaska’s oil pipeline. In the cold Arctic, this material ensures that oil in pipelines will not freeze throughout the year. (Fig. 6)
– Another one, though not "specially" made for Apollo, is also known for the Apollo project, which is Magic Poster (Figure 7). In the space weightlessness environment, various small parts will float in the air, light inconvenience, heavy may also cause accidents. So NASA found a nylon spine bond from a Swiss company called Velcro, which sticks to all sorts of things.
– Another one has nothing to do with Apollo. A company called Farmatic has developed an automatic pig feeding system that pumps milk into a constant temperature chamber and then makes a sound similar to that of a sow to attract piglets and pump them. The prototype of the system is a system that NASA provides the space shuttle with constant temperature facilities. The core of the system is a computer-controlled small heat pump.
In short, this series of spin-off has far-reaching impact.
Of course, I don’t mean "blablabla is the meaning of landing on the moon" because that’s not what it means. The derivative by-products of technology need the cooperation of the whole social market, capital and innovation mechanism (for example, there are not so many civil things in the Soviet aerospace industry); in the process of tackling the key technologies, there are many other industries cooperating (many of the achievements mentioned above come from subcontractor).
Rather than being part of the celebration of aerospace, it may be even more important for us to say what the whole society can get from top-notch industries.
