UV Sunglasses

If you’re wearing reading glasses, sunglasses, or any kind of protective material over your eyes, chances are NASA had a hand in making them better. During the 1980s, NASA wanted to find a way to improve protection for astronauts’ eyes as they often worked outside in direct sunlight without any real protection.

NASA employees started to look at different animals that had exceptional vision, such as hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey. During their research, they found that these birds would produce an oil around their eyes that functioned as a protective film. Researchers then created a film like the protective oil that could be applied over sunglasses and visors.