LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- When man first walked on the moon 40 years ago , it was not only a `` giant leap for mankind '' but also a boon for everyday items . A NASA-inspired tracking system is helping monitor endangered whale sharks . Sports shoes , for example , took a huge leap forward in the late 1980s when AVIA Group International , then a subsidiary of Reebok , turned to space technology to make them more flexible and durable . Freeze-dried food , artificial limbs , cordless vacuum cleaners and edible toothpaste were also developed using research that can be linked to NASA 's forays into space . They are listed in detail in `` Spinoff , '' a NASA magazine first compiled in 1976 as a definitive guide to the commercialized products whose development can be tied to space technology . `` We are fairly liberal with our application of the term spinoff , '' said editor Daniel Lockney . `` The product has to contain a component that was developed for NASA , some aspect of it or it could just be NASA 's know-how that helped the commercialization of the product , '' he said . More than 1,660 articles on space-related products have been published since the magazine 's first edition . Watch some of the spin-offs developed from space technology » . What you wo n't find on the list is the bright orange powered drink , Tang , or Teflon , or Velcro -- all products that have over time been erroneously linked to NASA 's space mission . `` Tang was developed by General Foods before NASA was even made a federal agency , but it was popularized during astronaut tasting experiments , '' Lockney said . `` Velcro was invented by a Swiss engineer in the 1940s , '' he said , adding `` Teflon was created by Dupont . It has many applications within NASA but is not a NASA technology . '' Infant formula makes the grade due to an ingredient discovered during NASA research into algae as a source of food supplements . `` Different experiments led to the discovery of a nutrient substance that has previously only been found in breast milk . [ This is ] believed to be important in the development in the eyes and the brain . '' It 's now in 95 percent of infant formula sold in the U.S. and in 65 countries around the world , Lockney said . It may have been 40 years since NASA put the first man on the moon , but the number of products that use space technology does n't seem to be diminishing . `` Spinoff '' publishes articles on 40 to 50 new space-related products every year but receives many more submissions for inclusion . The next edition due out in October will feature a new tracking system for endangered animals , including polar bears and whale sharks , which was derived from an algorithm developed for tracking star patterns . `` Tracing theses animals is something that previously a small core group of scientists would go out and do . We 're now able to have ordinary citizens upload their pictures of these animals that have been spotted through Flickr and Facebook . Logging times and dates will significantly increase the level of monitoring of these endangered species , '' Lockney said . For more space-related products see NASA 's `` Spinoff '' Web site .
Many common products can be traced back to research conducted by NASA . Freeze-dried food , artificial limbs , edible toothpaste are among NASA spin-offs . Contrary to rumors , Tang , Velcro and Teflon not developed for space travel . It has been 40 years since NASA 's Apollo 11 mission took man to the moon .