Sports and Recreation

Among a number of solar energy tests being jointly conducted by NASA's Lewis Research Center and the Energy Research and Development Administration are a sun-powered refrigerator and a back-pack mounted power supply for radios. Both use solar cells, spacecraft power sources which convert sun energy into electricity. The refrigerator, which has potential utility for outdoor campers, is in operation at a trail construction camp in Isle Royale National Park, a remote wilderness in Michigan's Lake Superior where electricity is available only at park headquarters. Trail maintenance crews working in the back country get food supplies only once weekly; with refrigeration they can enjoy a more varied and nutritious diet. Solar cells provide power to run the refrigerator and to charge its batteries for an alternate power supply when sun is not available. At the request of Znyo National Forest personnel NASA-Lewis also developed a back-pack system. The lightweight solar cell pack (on the pack strap in photo) charges batteries for portable two-way radios used by trailguards, who are on patrol for as much as two weeks at a time. Guards want continuous communication with the District Station, but battery capacity precludes such operation. With the solar cell power supply, guards can use their radios 24 hours a day.A lightweight, higher-capacity oxygen bottle-derived from rocket propellant tank technology-proved an important aid in the 1976 ascent to the summit of Mt. Everest by members of the. American Bicentennial Everest Expedition.