Over 800 NASA Innovations Now Available To The Public For Free

ASA shares software through a technology transfer program. (photo credit: Margaux Olverd / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The public can now have access to many computing innovations from NASA. This is thanks to a new effort from the US space agency to provide several innovations that the public can download.

Quoted from ZDNet, Friday July 2, NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, revealed that there are more than 800 innovations that have been made by NASA to assist development both on Earth, as well as on missions to the Moon and Mars.

NASA will share the software through a technology transfer program run by the Space Technology Mission Directorate. This software will be available to the public free of charge. NASA noted that the software that was distributed for free was a form of reciprocity between the space agency and the state.

"The good news is that this technology is available to the public for free. Software that is suitable for satellites, astronauts, engineers, and scientists because it is applied and adapted across industry and business is a testament to the extensive value that NASA brings to the United States (US) and the world, "said Nelson.

NASA also provides information on how a person or company can use their software. They advise those interested in NASA's technological innovations to obtain licenses at technology.nasa.gov.

Then, the party must apply for a license and commercialization plan online. If the application is accepted, the person or company will meet with NASA's license manager to determine the terms of the license agreement, before the final agreement is signed.

NASA has actually been collaborating with public and private organizations on various endeavors such as TetrUSS. Researchers at NASA are working to reduce aircraft emissions through the Computational Fluid Dynamics program.

Now TetrUSS has become one of the most downloaded NASA applications. In fact, it has been widely used for the production of planes, trains, cars, ships, and even buildings.

Apart from TetrUSS, NASA also has WorldWind, a data visualization tool that can now generate maps based on live feeds provided from satellite and maritime data. This tool has helped various parties to understand the impact of climate on maritime resources.

Technology Transfer Program Executive, Dan Lockney, said many NASA programs will be part of addressing the impacts of climate change.

"By making our software repository widely accessible, NASA is helping entrepreneurs, business owners, academics, and other government agencies solve real problems," explains Lockney.

For information, the list of other NASA software that will be shared includes categories such as system testing, aeronautics, data and image processing, and many more.

This list of software will also be continuously updated in the NASA repository, which can be searched. NASA will hold a virtual event on July 13 to explain in more detail about this information.