NASA Engineers Build New COVID-19 Ventilator in 37 Days
By Mike Wall | Senior Writer

SPACE.COM – April 24, 2020 | NASA brainpower may soon start making a big difference in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

A prototype ventilator built in just 37 days by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, passed a key test this week at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, agency officials announced Thursday (April 23).

The ventilator prototype for coronavirus disease patients designed and built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

“We specialize in spacecraft, not medical-device manufacturing,” JPL director Michael Watkins said in a statement. (JPL is NASA’s lead center for robotic planetary exploration.)

“But excellent engineering, rigorous testing and rapid prototyping are some of our specialties,” he added. “When people at JPL realized they might have what it takes to support the medical community and the broader community, they felt it was their duty to share their ingenuity, expertise and drive.”