Innovation Now
by WHRO
Innovation Now is a daily 90-second radio series and podcast that gives listeners a front row seat to hear compelling stories of revolutionary ideas, emerging technologies and the people behind the concepts that are shaping our future.
Episodes
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Protein Snacks
The goal was to generate novel food production technologies and tasty, nutritious food for long-duration exploration missions.
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Applying NASA Data
Without programs that help apply NASA data, the data isn’t enough.
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Diamonds Are for Everyone
A low-temperature coating process helped bring the strength of diamonds to everyday products.
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A Pollution Solution
NASA’s orbital experiments with microcapsules led to a natural solution for oil pollution.
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Beat the Heat
A model of NASA’s DAVINCI probe has passed a key test, proving it can survive the extreme temperatures of Venus.
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Testing Hardware
Before Artemis astronauts return to the Moon, the hardware they depend on must prove it can survive the unforgiving lunar environment.
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Echoes of Innovation
Safety at sea is advancing thanks to deep space exploration.
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Agricultural Fires
Wildfires can’t hide from NASA satellites, but small agricultural fires may.
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Sterile Standards
NASA had to pioneer standards for ultra-clean facilities because a single speck of dust could cause a mission to fail.
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Changing Technologies
Satellites play a key role in detecting and monitoring wildfires. But new technologies could help us better predict how the landscape burns.
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A Lifeline from Orbit
While participating in a fishing tournament, a five-person team, forty miles off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, experienced sudden disaster.
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Spring Down Under
As fall colors spread across North America, spring is blossoming across Australia.
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Bubbles in Your Beer
To keep their beer from going stale in the tanks, they turned to a solution that was designed for use on Mars.
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Enterprise
NASA originally planned to name its first space shuttle orbiter Constitution, but a massive letter writing campaign changed that.
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Fall Colors
In the fall, leaves change colors as they lose chlorophyll, the molecule the plants use to synthesize food.
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Fuel Savings
Sometimes a course change can bring unexpected rewards.
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A New Moon Crater
For more than seventeen years, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the Moon, mapping the Moon’s surface and temperature from orbit.
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Why We Explore
Since the dawn of humanity, people have explored to learn more about the world around them, find new resources, and improve their existence.
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Remote Sensing
Data from sensors on NASA satellites help monitor fire danger from space.
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Pointing the Camera
Imagine trying to take a picture as you’re speeding past the object at sixteen thousand miles per hour.
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Gaming Chairs
NASA technology converges to create the ultimate seat for gamers.
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From Ground to Space
To understand our atmosphere, scientists need to collect data on the ground, in the air, and from space.
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Microbial Hitchhikers
Even with strict procedures in place, some of Earth’s microbes are likely to hitch a ride to the Moon with human explorers.
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Wildfire Trends
Phil Dennison uses remote sensing data from satellites and aircraft to better understand how and why wildfires are changing.
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The Science of Sonic Booms
Supersonic aircraft fly fast and high, so by the time you hear a sonic boom, the plane may already be out of sight. But what is a sonic boom?
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The Glare Hazard
This bio-inspired technology led to a breakthrough in protective eyewear for humans.
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Satellite Puzzler
Using a fleet of satellites with instruments that view Earth in different wavelengths, NASA captures fascinating images of our planet.
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Comfort Zone
NASA invented materials that store and release heat on demand so astronauts wouldn’t overheat. Now your sheets can do the same thing.
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Mice in Space
Mice on the space shuttle helped fast-track a medicine that strengthens bones.
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Fire Fuels
NASA data can be used to better understand how much fuel a potential wildland fire might have.
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Defying Gravity
A device built to simulate spaceflight has become a secret ingredient for skincare.
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Seeking the Dark Universe
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on its way, beginning a three-month, million-mile journey to orbit.
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Skills for Tomorrow
Moon rocks collected by astronauts in the past are helping students learn computer skills for tomorrow.
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Firefighter Safety
Over the past decade Phil Dennison has led the development of multiple applications of remote sensing and GIS to improve firefighter safety.
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Informed Decisions
During the spring season, more than two million acres in Kansas are intentionally burned to manage invasive species and improve cattle grazing.
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Power from Pollution
NASA learned how to make fuel from thin Martian air. That same technology is being used to help clean up oil fields on Earth.
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AVIRIS
NASA airborne data provide key information to help wildland firefighters.
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Labor Day Salute
Labor Day often means barbecues or beach trips for Americans. Parades have been part of the festivities even before Labor Day became an official national holiday in 1894.
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Behind Your Map App
To track climate patterns, NASA needed to measure the height of the world’s oceans from space, but existing GPS data wasn’t precise enough for this scientific challenge.
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An Orbital Incubator
On Earth, 3D printed tissue collapses under its own weight. But in space, things are a bit different.
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Clever Engineering
Thanks to some clever engineering, NASA’s Voyager 2 has enough power to continue doing science in interstellar space.
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A Featherweight Antenna
Orbiting spacecraft can map Martian ice deposits far below the surface, but they are blind to the top layers of regolith, where ice would be most accessible.
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An Agricultural Tightrope
Farmers walk an agricultural tightrope: use too little fertilizer and crops fail. Use too much, and it washes away, polluting local water.
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Training the Brain
Distractions are everywhere. But these smart glasses use a NASA invention to help students train their brains to pay attention.
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Planet Hunting
Roman will test new technologies for space-based planet hunting.
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Modern Airships
Technology that dressed the Apollo astronauts is being used to launch a fleet of modern airships.
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Perfect Focus
The scan that keeps checkout lines moving has a cosmic origin.
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Taxi Please
NASA is planning air taxi rides that can keep travelers feeling good.
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One Billion
Volunteers from around the world have made one billion classifications on Zooniverse.
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No Blind Spots
A radio designed for NASA, now tracks flights over the most remote parts of the globe, eliminating air traffic blind spots.
About this show
Innovation Now is a daily 90-second radio series and podcast that gives listeners a front row seat to hear compelling stories of revolutionary ideas, emerging technologies and the people behind the concepts that are shaping our future.
Hosted by
WHRO
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