We may not be able to get back to the Moon any time soon, but space - or at least stuff developed for space - isn't totally out of reach.
It's in your bathroom (infrared ear thermometers), bedroom (memory-foam mattresses and pillows) and kitchen (enriched baby food).
Here are some highlights, courtesy of Daniel Lockney, editor of Spinoff, the journal of commercialised Nasa technology:
A good night's sleep: Viscoelastic foam was developed as part of Nasa's research into fatigue-resistant seats for pilots. Today, it's found in Tempur-Pedic mattresses and pillows.
The DustBuster: Nasa worked with Black & Decker to create longer-lasting batteries for cordless power tools.
"They weren't cleaning crumbs off their tools in space," Lockney notes, but the core technologies developed were later incorporated in commercial tools.
Eagle Eyes sunglasses: This brand of shades uses technology developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to block certain harmful ultraviolet rays.
It was originally designed for work in manufacturing space components - as part of special welding technology - and is now useful, the company notes, for "the needs of any lifestyle".
Freeze-dried food: Dehydrating food preserves nutrients, makes it weigh less and, according to Lockney, "some people would say it preserves the taste".
He did note that a discerning palate might not approve. Personally, he's a fan of Total With Strawberries.
Roses, reimagined: International Flavours & Fragrances Inc sent a miniature rose plant into orbit aboard Discovery to find out what a rose smells like in another gravity system (as sweet, it turns out, but different).
Molecules from the flower were extracted during flight, the scent was reproduced in a lab, and the Shiseido cosmetics company used it in the fragrance Zen.
Staying cool... or hot: How do astronauts stay cool - or warm enough - in space? The same way you can stay cool in . . . a corporate boardroom. "Thermally adaptive" materials, developed in the late 1980s for astronauts' suits and gloves, are now available in sports socks, dog jackets and the Jos. A. Bank "stays cool suit".
Olympic swimming gold: In Beijing last year, Michael Phelps and other gold medallists donned Speedo LZR suits made with technology tested at Nasa's Langley Research Centre.
The scientists tested 65 materials and configurations to design the swimsuit.
The Right Stuff: This new product is one item based on Nasa research that conspicuously ties itself to the space programme.
In his 1979 book, Tom Wolfe famously described the Nasa men as having "The Right Stuff."
Today, the stuff is available in the form of a sports drink: an electrolyte blend that increases an athlete's (or an astronaut's) plasma volume - a key way to stay extra hydrated.
According to David Belaga, president of the company that makes and distributes the stuff, its taste has been described as "different," which he thinks isn't a bad thing.
What didn't Nasa bring you?
Tang, among other things.
That powdery orange drink was developed by General Foods in 1959.
But John Glenn tasted it in 1962 and said he liked it, forever linking the sugary beverage and the space program, according to Lockney.
"Generally speaking, the astronaut food is a little bit healthier than Tang," he said.
