We expect a leading organization in the international space race to develop insane tech, spearhead invaluable innovation, and come up with solutions to problems so far above the mental capacity of us mere mortals we might fail to comprehend. However, sharing technology is not everyone’s business. Naturally, NASA also has to solve everyday problems that we take for granted here on Earth, made more complicated by the absence of oxygen and gravity or the dangers of temperatures far below freezing.

Luckily for us, NASA is quite generous in how they share their inventions, which makes it possible for us to use them to better our own lives in the process. Here are ten innovation spinoffs developed by NASA that changed many lives here on Earth

Related: Ten Most Expensive NASA Programs

10 Breast Cancer Detection

Working in space has many downsides. One of which is exposure to radiation. It was found that astronauts working on the International Space Station (ISS) were exposed to radiation equal to as many as 1,000 chest X-rays.

Although we are constantly exposed to various levels of radiation here on Earth, radiation in large quantities can be quite cancerous. Intensive preventative care and detection technology were therefore required to prevent their colleagues from developing terrible life-threatening cancers. NASA invested in research to study how sections of DNA can measure a person’s radiation exposure and assess the damage.

The BioScan System has been proven to be able to scan, find, and confirm the presence of cancer in the breasts by detecting the cancerous cells’ ability to recruit an alternative blood supply—a clear red flag of malignant lesions.^[1]

9 Safety Grooving Highways

Hydroplaning during rainstorms is a condition that causes the tires of a car rolling or sliding along the slippery road to be lifted away from the surface due to water pressure. This leads to a loss of control of the vehicle and is considered the main reason uncontrolled skidding happens during inclement weather.

As you can imagine, hydroplaning is a terrible thing to happen to a spacecraft returning to Earth at insane speeds, so NASA jumped to task. In the early ’60s, safety grooves in the runway were proposed, which would channel the water off the surface, providing better traction.

It wasn’t long before the innovation was used to improve the roads Americans travel on every day, leading to a reduction in almost 85% of wet-weather accidents since the implementation of the grooves.^[2]

8 Apollo-Era Life Rafts

Space travel has become more sophisticated over recent years, with shuttles landing on Earth in one piece, with designated runways. But there was a time when it wasn’t as easy, and pods would find themselves deep in the ocean in a maneuver called a splashdown.

NASA teamed up with a man named Jim Givens, who was working on a similar invention, something that would keep the astronauts afloat while the search for them in the vast ocean continued. The collaboration developed an inflatable raft system that could be deployed once they hit the water.

The Givens Raft has been adapted for commercial use and, after many years of use and adaptations, has saved upward of 450 lives that would have been claimed by the sea.^[3]

7 Airplane Winglets

When a fuel crisis in the 1970s threatened global air travel, the entire industry almost collapsed. Adversity breeds opportunity, so a band of NASA engineers and scientists came together to explore new fuel-saving technologies.

The Aircraft Efficiency Program was a 10-year program to develop various aeronautical technologies in the hopes of making future craft up to 50% more fuel efficient. It was to be completed by 1985 but was extended.

In partnership with Boeing, they initiated a winglet flight test based on the findings of Richard Whitcomb and proved a 7% increase in lift-drag ratio with a 20% decrease in induced drag. This finding led to an overall reduction in fuel consumption and millions in fuel savings since the winglets were introduced.^[4]

6 Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator

The first Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator was developed by Dr. Michel Mirowski, a cardiologist at the Johns Hopkins School for Medicine. It was implanted by Dr. Levi Watkings of the same institute.

But the life-saving technology we know today is derived from NASA’s space circuitry technology and can prevent erratic heart action known as arrhythmias. The implanted unit consists of a microcomputer power source and two heart sensors that can deliver corrective electrical shocks in the event of an irregular heartbeat.

The discovery of polymers also made it possible to implant pacemakers in complicated cases of congestive heart failure, and it all started with an attempt to build a passenger jet that could break the sound barrier.^[5]

5 Invisible Braces

Some of us are lucky enough to have avoided those uncomfortable wire tracks that slowly pull our teeth together like some contraption from the Stone Age. Still, many people around the world will have to adorn braces at some stage in their lives.

Up until the late ’80s, braces were made from a very noticeable metal that held your teeth together. Sometimes, they added colorful rubber bands for some flash. NASA, in conjunction with others, invented translucent ceramics that became a popular component in “invisible braces,” which went on to be a bestseller in the world of orthodontics.

It’s not the only way NASA has influenced the world of orthodontics, with the use of alloy, ultrasound, and X-rays to detect and improve overall dental health.^[6]

4 Smoke Detectors

Although smoke detectors have been around for a while, it wasn’t until the 1960s that they were adjusted and made available for home use. The device was cheap, easy to install, widely used, and frustrating as heck. Legislation made it compulsory, but the frustrating part was that false alarms became a common thing.

Around the time smoke detectors became a household item, NASA was busy finding ways to prevent false alarms in Skylab and other space labs. So they, working with Honeywell Corporation, set out to invent a new technology that was sensitive to differences in smoke and other fumes. They also fashioned the detector into a handy plastic unit that could be adjusted according to needs.

The smoke detector has saved thousands of lives since its invention (not to mention reducing the cost of false alarm callouts), with the adjustable smoke detector likely preventing many people from going insane.^[7]

3 Cell Phone Camera

When you dip your chin, tilt your shoulder, and bend one of your legs ninety degrees for your next selfie, hold out a thought for NASA as they contributed to the development of the cell phone camera.

NASA did not develop the cell phone camera, but what they contributed was key technology that helped with its creation. Active pixel sensors are a key element in digital imagery, which NASA developed for space travel. This tech, in turn, gave rise to what’s known as complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensors (CMOS).

CMOS image sensors originated from NASA’s desire to create fast, cheap spacecraft but also led to the development of charge-coupled devices, which allowed for high-quality digital photos by the late 1980s. Eric Fossum further pushed for even smaller and lighter machinery using the CMOS tech to create active pixel sensors. Say cheese!^[8]

2 Tracking Systems

Initially used on low-orbiting satellites and distant geostationary satellites, the cross-use of tracking technology has come a long way.

Since the 1970s, NASA has provided aid and expertise to the Cospas-Sarsat program, which is an international satellite-aided search and rescue effort. By utilizing the Search and Rescue System Satellite Aided Tracking System (SARSAT), multiple search and rescue type beacons have been developed (for example, the current 406 Beacon), enabling explorers to venture on land, air, and sea with a sense of security not previously known.

It is estimated that over 50,000 people worldwide in life-threatening situations, have been rescued by the inventions of the SARSAT beacons.^[9]

1 Plant Texting

If you do not already have enough notifications on your phone, it might soon be possible to receive texts from your thirsty plants demanding water.

BioServe Space Technologies, a company sponsored by NASA, has developed a leaf sensor of sorts that can detect whether your plants require water using electrical pulses. The world was quick to realize its agricultural benefits, and massive funding has subsequently led to amazing advancements in the field.

For those who do not have the greenest of fingers, it is quite possible that in the near future, your plant can be fitted with a custom device to alert you to low water levels. We will leave it to you to decide whether you want the thought of your plant dying of thirst while you are away hanging over your head.^[10]

There’s a reason the state can’t defeat the cartels—and it’s not just that people love drugs. It’s also about technology, which the state no longer controls. 

Over the past decade, technologies developed and even invented by Mexican and Colombian cartels have come to challenge not only the state’s monopoly over drug pushing and violence but its monopoly over citizens as well. Some drug lords are de facto regional governors and cartels are now parallel states.

From weapons factories to surveillance networks, here are ten ways they’ve gone about it.

10. Tire punchers

Although primitive, especially for state-building, tire punchers get a place on this list. Police can use them to stop you from escaping, but cartels have reversed this dynamic. In a pinch, they’ll drop spikes from tubes on customized cars to send pursuers spinning out of control.

Known as ponchallatas, these spikes can be quite sophisticated. Some are just sharp nails welded together like jacks, so however they land one always points up. But others are cut from sheet metal, and some even have hollow spikes and holes to maximize the deflation of tires. 

The use of ponchallantas is most associated with southern Texas, the stomping grounds of Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. Between 2008 and 2013, they used tire punchers 80 times to stop police dead in their tracks.

9. Drones

In 2021, drones were used by members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to drop explosives on poilice officers in Michoacan. Each of the drones was fitted with a remote-controlled hook carrying a container full of plastic explosives and ball bearings, complete with a cup to serve as a parachute.

Drone bombings are as much a status symbol or display of strength as anything else, and are filmed for broadcasting online.

Usually, though, drones are just used for surveillance, deployed to monitor rivals and police, or to carry small cargoes of drugs.

8. Tanks

Another weapon of the road pioneered by Los Zetas is the monstruo, or “monster”—a custom-built narco-tank with gun turrets, battering rams, and steel-plate armor four inches thick. Some are built from scratch, while others are converted from pickup trucks; but they’re all a brutal menace to the state. In fact, with their up-to-date camouflage, they’re indistinguishable from the tanks of the Mexican army (which is kind of apt given the number of special forces recruited to Los Zetas). They’re basically immune to anything the police have to throw at them.

Also known as rinocerontes (rhinoceroses), they’ve become popular with many cartels, not least as status symbols—hence the display of their initials on the shells (e.g. CJNG for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel). 

Despite each one costing more than two million pesos ($117,000), payable to cartel mechanics, monstruos have exploded in number. As of 2015, 40 had been seized nationwide; since 2019, however, 260 have been seized in Tamaulipas alone. 

7. Cannons and catapults

Sometimes the old ways are best. To get drugs over the border, smugglers have been known to just shoot them over the fence. One “medieval-style” catapult was actually welded onto it, and capable of firing loads up to 300 meters. It’s a tactic also used in Afghanistan, to smuggle opium into Iran.

Another method deployed by cartels in Mexico is the compressed air cannon, which is both faster and further reaching—something like 700 meters at 300 miles per hour. It’s not ideal, but it’s a good last resort for when other supply routes are closed.

6. Tunnels

In 2015, drug lord El Chapo humiliated the Mexican government by escaping from his prison cell through a tunnel underground. Complete with lights, ventilation, and a motorbike on rails, the mile-long passageway was a feat of clandestine engineering. 

But narco-tunnels are routinely used for smuggling. While it’s unknown (of course) how many there are, law enforcement has busted 15 over the last couple of decades. 

One of the most impressive ran from Tijuana to San Diego, 35 feet underground, allowing vast quantities of drugs to pass unimpeded under one of the most fortified stretches of the US border wall.

5. Stealth Aircraft

Between 2006 and 2011, authorities seized more than 400 aircraft from cartel drug smugglers—more planes than there are in the Mexican Air Force. They also destroyed more than 2,000 unregistered airfields. Most of these are single-engine, high-wing planes like Cessnas, suitable for landing on dirt roads and deserts. Some have modifications, such as metal plates under the nose to protect engines from gravel or big tires for landing on rocks.

Increasingly, though, low-flying ultralight aircraft are used to evade radar detection. Fitted with steel baskets for carrying drugs, they look like motorized hang gliders from the ground—if they’re seen at all. Usually, they’re painted black and fly at night without lights. Pilots wear night vision goggles or follow the routes of main roads, releasing their loads at illuminated drop zones. Extra fuel tanks keep them airborne for longer than ordinary ultralights.

Although they’re able to carry much less weight than larger planes, ultralights can’t be shot down by authorities—not legally anyway.

4. Arms

When you make everything yourself, it’s hard for the state to control you. Guns, in particular, from a cartel’s perspective, are better assembled in-house. They’re not easy, though. Authorities were taken aback by the sophistication of a gun factory busted in Jalisco. Hidden between a couple of farmhouses, it had, according to the Attorney General, “highly sophisticated machinery” and “very precise software”, allowing cartel armorers to make untraceable components for AR-15s from unfinished aluminum blocks.

But they also cobble together assault rifles from components smuggled in from the US.

It’s thought the next step for gunsmiths will be 3D printing, assuming they’re not there already.

3. Submarines

Luxury undersea superyachts aside, when you think of submarines, you think of the state—or the military anyway. Rarely are they used by civilians. In 2019, however, a fiberglass sub with a crew of three (an amateur boxer and two Ecuadorian cousins) was scuttled in Spain after four weeks at sea. Carrying three tons of coke, the 21.5-meter submersible, which belonged to the Colombian Gulf Clan cartel, had traveled 3,500 miles from a shipyard in the Amazon rainforest. 

Conditions on board were awful. Most of the space was for cargo and fuel, so the cabin itself was tiny. It was also dark, noisy, and smelly. The crew lived on energy bars, rice, and sardines, crapped in trash bags, and fretted constantly about leaks, betrayal, and detection—not to mention their health.

Still, it was the first narco-sub to reach European waters, hence its revolutionary nickname, Che.

2. Surveillance

Free trade and firepower can only get you so far. When you’re up against the state, you also need to know what it’s doing; you need eyes and ears everywhere. 

In Mexico, cartels use clandestine CCTV networks to monitor the competition—hooked up to the enemy’s own telephone poles. It’s not known whether these are centrally coordinated by some kind of narco-NSA, but individual cartels do have intelligence services. The Gulf Cartel, for instance, in the city of Reynosa, has an “intelligence and command and control faction” called the Ciclones. Thought to be operated “via an encrypted and anonymized system”, 39 of their cameras were discovered by police and taken offline in 2015. While operational, they provided clear views of government and military buildings, police stations, and the attorney general’s office, as well as civilian areas.

At the US border, another kind of surveillance is used. In 2011, at the height of the “drug war”, up to 300 cartel scouts were deployed on ridges and mountain top spy posts or “spider holes” to watch the movements of government agents. They relayed this intel to smugglers on the ground over an encrypted radio network set up by kidnapped engineers.

1. Propaganda

To really evade the law, you have to supplant it. You have to get the masses on side. Following the state’s example, cartels feed propaganda to kids—and TikTok is the place to recruit them, especially for the forward-thinking Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Videos of exotic pets, dancing gangsters, wads of cash, assault rifles, tanks, cars, and poppy fields, as well as daring Grand Theft Auto-style airdrops and speedboat chases—all to playful Mexican soundtracks—glamorize the cartel lifestyle. The clips get millions of views, not only in Mexico but around the world as well. TikTok tries to take down the videos, but supply and demand remain high. The result is a steady stream of youngsters only too eager to join. It also leaks into mainstream popular culture, with shows like Narcos on Netflix.

Within Mexico, infowar tactics deployed by cartels resemble those widely used by the state. Journalists and editors critical of cartels, for example, are kidnapped or murdered, forcing others to censor themselves. Nowadays, many outlets simply print cartel press releases as news. Sometimes it really is news, such as highlighting human rights abuses by the state, but always with a pro-cartel agenda.

Other means of propaganda include narcocorridos (folk songs or ballads glamorizing cartels), graffiti, blogs and other social media, banners, demonstrations, and flyers.

Whether it’s getting a scrape on the knee from a rough game of football (soccer, if you prefer) or rolling your ankle in heels, we’ve all experienced these small injuries occasionally and have bounced back from them. However, there are cases where seemingly small incidents have spiraled out of control, resulting in unbelievable consequences such as being trapped in a coma for months, requiring multiple skin grafts, or even death.

10 Heather Harbottle: Paper Cut Ends with a Skin Graft

This 49-year-old mother had a close brush with death in 2020 when she contracted a flesh-eating bug through an uncovered paper-cut wound. She never expected such a small inconvenience to develop into necrotizing fasciitis—a disease that destroys the skin, muscle, and surrounding soft tissues. It first started on her left hand, where the paper cut was found, and rapidly traveled to her armpits and heart. Consequently, she was quickly driven to the hospital and luckily missed a near amputation of her arm as the doctors opted to give her a skin graft instead.^[1]

9 Michael Berger: Another Paper Cut Turns Septic

Another terrifying instance where the relatively minor paper cut led to much more ominous complications is when 46-year-old Michael Berger from New Jersey fell into a three-week medically-induced coma as a result of sepsis. This is a toxic response to an infection that is likely to lead to organ failure. This response was triggered by the cut on his finger that had become infected and spread across his entire body. Doctors had given him a 50% chance of survival rate. Fortunately, he was placed in the hospital’s nationally recognized Sepsis Program. As a result of that, he is still with us today.^[2]

8 Bobby Leach: Orange Peel Causes Gangrene

This next takes us all the way back to 1926. Bobby Leach was touring in New Zealand, and his relatively relaxing trip was cut short when he fatally slipped on an orange peel and injured his leg. Although he quickly brushed off this injury, his leg soon became infected, and the infection turned into gangrene. Due to the lack of advanced hospital treatment at that time, amputation was the only solution to his problem. However, he would never recover from his injuries and died shortly afterward. Even more bizarre, Leach was only the second person to travel down Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel, yet it was a simple fruit skin that led to his demise!^[3]

7 Callum Jones: Sprained Ankle Causes Fatal Blood Clot

In October 2021, 27-year-old Callum Jones was peacefully walking his dog when he sprained his ankle by slipping on a wooden bridge. As his pain began to worsen, he was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured ankle. He had his foot placed in a protective plastic boot and was given a pair of crutches. When he went back for a follow-up appointment, he was told he had badly-sprained ligaments and tendons.

Just two days later, he found it hard to breathe normally and had aching pains in his shoulders and chest. He spoke with his local doctor over a telephone call and was only diagnosed with pleuritis—a condition that affects the lungs and causes chest pains. Soon, Jones collapsed inside of his house and was immediately rushed to a hospital, where he died of pulmonary embolism, which was a blocked blood vessel in his lungs. This was a direct result of the immobility caused by the damage to the ligament.^[4]

6 Alex Braes: Broken Toenail Causes a “Skin-Eating Disease”

This 18-year-old teenager from New South Wales woke up one night with excruciating pains in his knees. Alex Braes was rushed to the hospital by his father, but doctors assumed his pains were due to sporting injuries and advised him to come back the next morning for an ultrasound scan. However, when the pair arrived at 8 am, there were no doctors available to check the results of the procedure, and none of his vitals were examined.

After Braes returned home, his knees had become unbearably painful, so he called triple zero (the same as 911 in America). Unfortunately, there were no ambulances available, so his father had to drive him to the hospital again. When he arrived, he was taken into the building in a wheelchair, and he only appeared semi-conscious and was unable to talk coherently. Doctors then discovered that he had necrotizing fasciitis—the deadly “skin-eating” disease previously mentioned. This was caused by a broken toenail and proved fatal for this young teenager. Although Alex Braes was rushed to Sydney hospital by helicopter, he would sadly die of cardiac arrest the following day.^[5]

5 Harry Houdini: The Few Blows That Killed the Famous Stunt Performer

As one of the most famous and revered magicians and escape artists of the 20th century, Houdini was no stranger to escaping risky situations. However, at the age of 52, Houdini would perform for one last time on stage before dying of two hard blows to his stomach. Twelve days before his death on October 31, 1926, Houdini spoke to a group of students. He boasted about the strength of his abdominal muscles and mentioned that they could withstand hard punches. One of the curious students decided to test this theory and, by doing so, suddenly threw three or four hard punches at Houdini’s stomach.

Despite not having sufficient time to prepare for these blows, Houdini shrugged the pain off and even went on stage to give his last performance. Unbeknownst to Houdini, the punches actually ruptured his appendix. But at that time, he felt no majorly concerning symptoms besides stomach cramps and discomfort. Only when he fell ill and feverish on the train to Detroit did he realize something was seriously wrong. He was quickly hospitalized, and doctors operated on him… but to no avail. The burst appendix had poisoned his body, and he soon died.^[6]

4 Keith Clarke: Stubbed Toe Led to Organ Failure

Although we’ve all annoyingly stubbed our toe on an inconspicuous object, it proved fatal for 59-year-old father-of-two Keith Clarke. He went swimming in a simulated coral reef pool while on holiday in Florida. Clumps of rocks were placed all around the pool, and they had living coral implanted inside them. Clarke accidentally stubbed his toe on one of the pieces and thought nothing more of it until three days later when he collapsed in an airport on his way back to Manchester. He was immediately rushed to Central Florida Regional Hospital and was diagnosed with septic shock and organ failure. On July 2, he was flown back to England in an air ambulance, and doctors were forced to amputate his legs below the knee, but it was already too late. Clarke would die of multiple organ failure caused by a bloodstream infection just eight weeks after he stubbed his toe.^[7]

3 Brittanie Cecil: Flying Hockey Puck Proves Fatal

On March 16, 2002, Brittanie Cecil attended an NHL hockey match as her father bought tickets to them for her as an early birthday present. However, this trip would prove to be fatal as one of the players struck a routine slap shot that resulted in the puck being deflected off an opponent’s stick. It flew into the lower bowl seats of the ice rink and struck Cecil in the head, just above the nose. She was taken to the hospital, and during that time, she appeared conscious and seemed to recover the next day.

A CT scan that was performed on her, however, failed to pick up a torn vertebral artery which resulted in clotting and swelling of the brain. Forty-eight hours later, Cecil would die on March 18—only two days before she was to turn 14. As a result of this shocking and tragic death, safety netting was placed around the NHL arena, and Cecil currently remains the only fan fatality in NHL history.^[8]

2 Jasmine Beever: Hairball in Stomach Ends in Death

In 2017, 16-year-old student Jasmine Beever collapsed at her college and was sent home to rest. When large and mysterious red blotches appeared on her skin, she was rushed to the hospital, and doctors soon had to fight to keep her alive. Although they managed to resuscitate her for 15 minutes, Beever would sadly die that evening.

The cause of her death was found to be an infection caused by a hairball lodged in her stomach. A post-mortem examination revealed she had contracted peritonitis—an inflammation of the thin layer of tissue on the abdomen. For years, Beever had been chewing on her hair, which was likely a sign of “Rapunzel syndrome.” As a result, a large hairball had been unable to pass through her body and had accumulated inside her stomach.^[9]

1 Sam Ballard: Slug Swallowed Ends Up Causing Paralysis

In 2010, Sam Ballard, a 19-year-old from Sydney, Australia, was drinking over at a friend’s house when a slug began crawling over the concrete patio. A group of his friends all dared him to pick up the slug and eat it, and he did so. No one could have expected this seemingly harmless albeit gross action would turn out with a lethal end.

Despite this, Ballard initially felt fine. However, a few days after consuming the slug, he began to fall ill, felt extremely weak, and had severe pains in both of his legs. Although multiple sclerosis was first suspected to be the cause, due to his father having been diagnosed with it already, doctors informed him and his family that it was a rat lungworm disease that had been passed on to him from the infected slug. This disease was in the form of a parasite, and when it reached the brain, it would cause inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Despite most cases of rat lungworm infection being mild and treatable, Ballard’s proved to have no cure. Soon after his diagnosis, Ballard fell into a coma and remained there for 420 days. He woke up paralyzed and was fed through a tube as he could not move without extensive effort. After suffering eight years of this debilitating condition, Sam Ballard passed away in 2018 due to medical complications.^[10]