There were four hearts still beating beneath the rubble, as much as ten feet, but NASA's Finder Radar was still able to mark the location of the trapped earthquake survivors when the hardware was deployed in Nepal to aid in the search and rescue effort.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) deployed two prototypes of its FINDER (Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response) devices in Nepal, following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that has claimed the lives of around 7,000 people in central Nepal. The JPL and the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate collaborated on the development of FINDER.
FINDER uses microwave-radar to pinpoint heartbeats and is still a work in progress. The prototypes have been proven to be capable of locating people buried under up to 30 feet of rubble, 20 feet of solid concrete and from a distance of up to 100 feet away in open spaces. It can pin an individual's location down to a radius of about five feet.
NASA and Homeland were encouraged by FINDER's effectiveness after having to put the device in the field under the unfortunate circumstances, according to Reginald Brothers, DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology.
"The true test of any technology is how well it works in a real-life operational setting," Brothers said. "Of course, no one wants disasters to occur, but tools like this are designed to help when our worst nightmares do happen. I am proud that we were able to provide the tools to help rescue these four men."
FINDER's effectiveness in the field evidences the validity of NASA's space exploration in improving life back on the ground, according to Dr. David Miller, NASA's chief technologist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
"NASA technology plays many roles: driving exploration, protecting the lives of our astronauts and improving--even saving--the lives of people on Earth," said Miller. "FINDER exemplifies how technology designed for space exploration has profound impacts to life on Earth."
NASA will demonstrate FINDER's capabilities at an event in Lorton, Va. on May 7, but stress that the demonstration had been set for that date long before the earthquake rocked Nepal.
Back in Nepal, the country is still recovering from the April 25 earthquake. The latest figures put the death toll well over 7,000, injuries well in excess of 14,000 and the total number of people affected by the quake in some way at around eight million.
