(CNN) -- When astronauts in the Apollo program needed a lightweight drill to collect samples from 10 feet below the moon's surface, NASA turned to an American company to help it develop a small, lightweight, battery-powered tool.

The result was the cordless drill, precisely what the astronauts needed and a cash cow for the Black & Decker company over the years, which does about $400 million a year in the rechargeable tool business.

In fact, the necessity that mothered the cordless drill also gave birth to the Dustbuster, the shrub trimmer and other rechargeable household appliances.

The cordless drill is an example of the way NASA has passed on the technologies it has developed at its regional labs over the past 40 years to industry, universities and other agencies.

"When NASA was born, the idea of transferring NASA technology was born with it," says Robert Norwood of NASA Commercial Products.

Musical greeting cards are another example. They use technology developed for moving parts in satellites. Scratch-resistant eyeglass lenses use a coating developed to protect space gear.

Hall of Fame foam

Smoke detectors, pacemakers, breathing devices for firemen, water filtration systems and advanced home insulation are just a few of the products that NASA and the companies it works with have perfected.

Insulation used on satellites in space led to those shiny, thin blankets handed to marathon runners after a race, which are known as space blankets.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, maintains a technology transfer office that works with commercial partners in the development and commercialization of products.

Other products with origins in the space program:

Temper Foam, a product developed by NASA's Ames Research Center in California, which has billions of self-ventilating memory molecules that react to a body's heat and weight.

Originally used to soften the ride for test pilots and shuttle occupants, it is now being manufactured by a Kentucky company and used for those suffering from sleep disorders and bedsores. The latter can be fatal if left untreated and reportedly cost Medicare and Medicaid programs about $2 billion a year.


Suits that keep astronauts cool in space help multiple sclerosis patients back on Earth

The foam has been included in the U.S. Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame.

Balls of beeswax containing microorganisms that eat oil in oil spills.

The idea came from a Pennsylvania company, but it was NASA that designed the tiny capsules. Unique to the design is a shell that allows oil to penetrate, but not water.

Once the oil seeps through, the microorganisms release enzymes that digest the oil. When the balls are full of digested oil, they explode, releasing enzymes, carbon dioxide and water, all of which are environmentally safe and safe for fish to eat.

The Farmatic Robotic Sow, an artificial pig developed by a Canadian company using NASA technology.

Because piglets can be crushed accidentally by a mother pig and because some often do not get enough to eat, a Canadian company developed the robotic sow, which looks like a soft drink dispenser and is just about as cuddly.


	COUNTDOWN: Mission News CNN Video Archive Panoramic Photos Tour Mission Control FLASHBACK: Whither the Mecury 7? Shuttle Milestones Gallery: Then and Now LAUNCHPAD: Message Boards Space Chat Glenn-Gram e-mail GAMES: Match the Mission Mission Quiz Crossword Puzzle

Nevertheless, near feeding time, the machine releases formula into a heating chamber, and at feeding time a heat lamp warms the machine to hog-body temperature. It then emits grunts that sound like a sow calling her young to summon the piglets.

NASA's contribution was miniature heat pumps originally developed for satellite cooling. The pumps enabled the manufacturer to dramatically reduce the size of the machine.

A spacesuit for a 6-year-old in Virginia Beach, Virginia, that allows him to play outside in the daylight for the first time in his life.

The boy suffers from porphyria, a genetic disorder that causes extreme sensitivity to daylight. Symptoms include skin and nerve disorders, blistering, abdominal pain and other disorders. Some children are sensitive even to 40-watt bulbs.

The suit was designed by NASA and manufactured by three companies. NASA donated it to the boy through a foundation.

The boy's mother said her son's new favorite activities include "playing in dirt and rolling on the lawn."

Correspondent Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.