Hundreds of applications here on Earth?
Chrysler Group LLC and NASA today announced a three-year alliance to share information related to advanced technologies. The alliance allows Chrysler Group and NASA to tap into existing and emerging space exploration and automotive technologies.
The shared knowledge will be used in their respective activities.
Several advanced technology topics are being investigated for potential synergies including: materials engineering, robotics, radar, battery systems and other energy storage mediums.
“The investment in NASA technologies has led to hundreds of applications here on Earth for several decades now, and this collaboration with Chrysler promises to continue that tradition,” said Mike Coats, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The alliance is under the aegis of NASA’s Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP), which is said to provide the organizational structure for “acquiring, maturing, infusing and commercial technology capabilities for NASA’s Mission Directorates, Programs and Projects through investments and partnerships with Industry, Academia, Government Agencies and National Laboratories.”
Project teams have been assigned to different technologies, and each team includes a Chrysler Group and a NASA technical specialist. Chrysler claims it has already benefited from the alliance from shared research on reliable surface navigation sensors.
“This is a great opportunity to share knowledge and data in areas where both Chrysler Group and NASA have a vested interest,” said Scott Kunselman, Senior Vice President, Chrysler Engineering.
Chrysler has a history of working with NASA on America’s space efforts. In 1961, Chrysler built Redstone rockets for the Mercury Project that put the first American in space. In addition, Chrysler built boosters to power the first two Apollo spacecraft into earth orbit, including the program’s first manned mission in 1968.