nasa takes inspiration from sports

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Apparently, NASA (USA's Space Agency) is studying the aerodynamics involved in sports balls moving through the air in order to make a spacecraft take the most efficient route to Mars. "Sports provide a great opportunity to our researchers to study aerodynamics with something they can relate to", says Rabi Mehta, chief of the Experimental Aero-Physics Branch of NASA's Ames Research Centre. Mehta gave a couple of examples to demonstrate his point - "A smooth golf ball travels half the distance a dimpled one travels, because the dimples delay separation of the ball from the boundary layer" and "When a quarterback throws the football he ideally wants to throw a tight spiral with high rotation rate to help stabilise the ball as it flies through the air".

At this rate, NASA might well field a couple of teams in the sports leagues and win them easily.


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