Description: Scientific American brings outerspace to earth! Over 60 consumer products -- from dustbuster vacuums to CAT scans -- trace their roots to NASA's scientific inventions for space applications. Vividly illustrated profiles of each show how the science was developed, and how it's put to work everyday on earth.

Outer space may be the final frontier, but the technology developed for use there is also finding a home here on Earth.

Did you know:
-- The quick-drying paint developed to protect the Apollo launch pad was recently used to give the Statue of Liberty a makeover? (The paint can withstand sudden temperature changes without cracking -- which was as important to protect the launch pad against thermal shock as it is to protect Lady Liberty against seaspray and fog.)
-- The super-ceramics developed to keep the Space Shuttle cool on the inside are now used in our cars' catalytic converters and in replacement hip joints and heart valves?
-- The athletic shoes on the market today utilize designs originally developed for space suits?

Some of the world's most familiar consumer products and processes are derived from NASA technology. This compendium of successful spin-offs will intrigue any science or technology buff. Vividly designed spreads illustrate the inventions' use in space and on earth, with clear diagrams explaining how each works. Organization by subject -- Health and Medicine, Home and Recreation, Energy and Environment, and more -- and "See also" cross-referencing allow the reader to understand how inventions are interconnected, and how NASA's labs affect our everyday life.

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