For centuries, humans have looked at the night sky to understand the universe, but many of its secrets remained hidden beyond the reach of ordinary telescopes. Some of the most important discoveries in space science came from instruments designed to detect invisible forms of energy rather than visible light. The greatest breakthrough came from NASA engineer George Edward Alcorn in the early 1980s. Alcorn and his co-inventors developed the X-ray imaging spectrometer, which helped scientists study the elemental and chemical properties of cosmic matter. The National Inventors Hall of Fame states that Alcorn invented the X-ray imaging spectrometer while working at NASA Goddard, which helped in creating the maps of planets.
A NASA invention built to see what ordinary instruments could not
