A company that created tough textiles for NASA's Mars Pathfinder spacecraft used the same technology to make seriously tough products enhancing public safety. The company manufactures a variety of protective gear that resists threats from blunt, sharp, ballistic, puncturing and slashing forces. From gloves to body armor, the products keep police officers, soldiers and others safe from harm.
Mars' atmosphere is so thin that traditional parachutes can't slow down spacecraft to make a safe landing. One landing strategy is to let the spacecraft fall to the ground and bounce and roll until it comes to a stop — protected all the while by airbags, of course. The Mars Pathfinder’s airbags incorporated multiple layers (up to four, depending on the location of the airbag) of lightweight fabric. When Pathfinder landed on Mars, the vehicle and its delicate payload were protected by 24 inflated spheres.
Learn more about how NASA helped develop technology that impacts tough textiles within your city's public safety environment!