A new agreement between NASA and Chrysler may put rocket science on the road and automotive technologies in space.  The partnership is intended to use technologies originally developed for human spaceflight to enhance future vehicles and adapt advanced automotive technology for use in space, NASA officials said.

Through its Innovative Partnerships Program, the goal of the agreement is to advance technologies in areas of “common technical interest” by taking advantage of each organization's area of expertise. Some of the areas to be reviewed include materials engineering, robotics, radar and battery systems, NASA officials said.

"The investment in NASA technologies has led to hundreds of applications here on Earth for several decades now, and this collaboration with Chrysler promises to continue that tradition," said Mike Coats, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, in a statement.

This isn’t the first time Chrysler and NASA have worked together; NASA has worked with the Chrysler Group on previous space ventures. In 1961, Chrysler built Redstone rockets for the Mercury Project that put the first American in space. Also, Chrysler built boosters to power the first two Apollo spacecraft.

Erin Harrison is a senior editor with TMCnet, primarily covering telecom expense management, politics and technology and Web 2.0. She serves as senior editor for TMC's (News - Alert) print publications, including "Internet Telephony", "Customer Interaction Solutions", "Unified Communications" and "NGN" magazines. Erin also oversees production of TMCnet's weekly iPhone (News - Alert) e-Newsletter. To read more of Erin's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Erin Harrison