Adidas launches footwear research into space

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Adidas is one of the recent companies to dispatch materials to International Space Station in the name of science or more particularly, comfortable footwear.

The number of pellets made from the same plastic that Adidas melds into the soles of sneakers will arrive at the International Space Station after SpaceX launches the experiment on Friday from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11.50 pm

The pellets will be packed with 4,500 pounds of supplies. Over the past 10 years, NASA has been working with SpaceX to food including toiletries and other items that help the astronauts to sustain living aboard the International Space Station.

Adidas plastic pellets will be made from two different polymers which have subtle different molecular structures and astronauts will be watching how they behave in microgravity, Adidas says this will help its researchers a better understanding of the materials. The main goal is to design shoe soles that can contribute “new performance and comfort benefits for our athletes,” said Henry Hanson, a mechanical engineer at Adidas, in a promotional video.

Only time will tell that Will athletes feel a significant difference in their footwear because of this research? But Adidas is leaning into the analyzing as a marketing opportunity.

O’Neil accepted that some companies are equally interested in marketing and gaining new knowledge. “That’s the reality,” he said.

A promotional bent isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As O’Neill sees it, any interest in space-based research is in favor for the overall industry and can inspire a new generation of scientists and astronauts. NASA keeps much of the branding and promotion at arms-length through strict merchandising ground rules. (Adidas will not be using NASA logos on its “Space Race” shoes or in promos, only the ISS National Lab emblem.)

That’s to make sure that the public should not think marketing claims are endorsed or promoted by NASA, told Henry Hertzfeld, a space policy professor at George Washington University.

“Corporate sales is not part of NASA’s mission,” added Hertzfeld.