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We get so caught up in movie science fiction we forget that it's also happening in real life too.

NASA took a 5.8 percent scale prototype space plane and covered it with a ton of glowing, fluorescent oil. They stuck it in a wind tunnel and tested its aerodynamics. The glowing oil helps showcase the more minute details of how air blasts by, allowing the engineers to tweak the design to modify lift, thrust and more.

[NASA Image Credit: NASA Langley/Preston Martin]