MOFFETT FIELD, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) – Charles Bolden Jr., the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) Administrator, on Wednesday said that the agency must develop environmentally responsible solutions to the United States’ aviation problems.

Administrator Bolden said that NASA has a critical responsibility to address the most pressing aviation issues as air travel is one of the safest modes of transportation and vital to the American economy.

However, the NASA high official said that the increasing air traffic is taking a toll on the environment and the nation’s aviation infrastructure. The remarks were made in the midst of the NASA’s Green Aviation Summit.

“We need to make some changes – both in the design of aircraft and in the way they transit through our skies to not only maintain, but improve safety and efficiency. That’s a huge challenge, but we at NASA enthusiastically accept it,” Bolden added.

The Green Aviation Summit is held at NASA’s Ames Research Center. The summit focuses on the depth and breadth of NASA’s work to develop aviation technologies that are designed to make air transportation cleaner and quieter for the environment, with fewer delays for travelers.

The two-day meeting has brought together about 200 experts from NASA, other federal government organizations, industry and academia. The presentations at the summit are focusing the emerging technologies that can reduce aircraft noise, emissions and fuel consumption and ensure the safety and growth of the aviation industry.

“We really are helping the country to advance to the next generation of air transportation and aviation by working together. This summit signifies our strong commitment,” Jaiwon Shin, NASA’s associate administrator, said.

NASA has developed green technology in the past like winglets and chevrons. Winglets are the vertical attachments that can be seen on the wing tips of many commercial airliners in service which are designed to reduce fuel consumption.

On the other hand, chevrons are the scalloped edges on the engine nozzles of some models of commercial and cargo aircraft that just recently entered the market and are designed to reduce noise.

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