A New Spacesuit Design Recycles Astronaut Waste into Water

Introduction:

The expansive vastness of space contains boundless beauty and endless scientific exploration. However, there are many challenges to be overcome when operating beyond the atmosphere of Earth, not least the limited availability of the resources needed – including water – but with a new innovation in designs for spacesuits that turn astronaut urine into purified, drinkable water, the game has changed.

The Challenge: Water Scarcity in Space

Water is indeed the elixir of life, and its importance is exponentially higher in the hostile environment of space. Astronauts on the ISS have a very stringent water budget; every drop of water that passes through their body has been recycled many times over. But the conventional methods of recycling water on ISS are complex and consume more energy.

This is why there is such a great deal of concern over water scarcity in space:

Space is unable to provide the supply of freshwater readily available on Earth. Lakes, rivers are not available on a spaceship or a space station. All the water astronauts use is transported from Earth at considerable cost and extra weight during launch.

Water Purification is Energy-Intensive: Recycling wastewater onboard the ISS is energy-intensive and multi-phased, a precious resource in space.

Waste Management Issues: Onboard storage of large amounts of wastewater creates hygiene and health risks, and thus a requirement for efficient recycling or disposal.

A Trendsetting Solution: The "Stillsuit" of Science Fiction Inspiration

Enter the new concept of spacesuit design, inspired by the concept of "stillsuits" from Frank Herbert's science fiction masterpiece, Dune. Developed by a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, this unique suit comes with a built-in system that recycles urine in addition to ensuring water would be scarce in space.

Here is how this "real-life stillsuit" works:

The suit comes fitted with a special collection cup - designed separately for men and women - that ensures a comfortable fit. Leakage is prevented using a vacuum-based system wherein a vacuum pump automatically starts functioning when the astronaut starts urinating by drawing the urine away from the body.

Filtration and Purification: Urine collected is fed to the filtration unit by combining forward osmosis, (FO) with reverse osmosis, (RO) technologies. These latest technologies filter impurities and contaminants and let clean, portable water pass out.

Portable and Efficient: The entire urine collection and filtration system is packaged in a backpack-like device, hence portable and integrated into the suit itself. The scientists said the system can purify 500 ml of urine in just five minutes, a great advance over current systems.

Beyond Dune: The Science Behind the Suit

The stillsuit in real life isn't magic; it's science. Here are some closer looks at the technologies that make it possible:

Forward Osmosis (FO): This forward osmosis process utilizes a semipermeable membrane, which allows water molecules to pass through but would not dissolve salts and contaminants. In the stillsuit, FO is the first step of pre-treatment, removing the bulk impurities from urine.

Reverse Osmosis: This mechanism uses pressure to drive water molecules through a second, permeable semipermeable membrane, which rejects highly concentrated brine. RO is the final treatment step, which ensures that the outcome water is safe and fit for use by humans for drinking.

Advantages of In-Suit Recycling: Salvation for Space Missions

The design of the stillsuit has several advantages over typical drinking water recycling systems:

Reduced Load on Earth: The stillsuit allows astronauts to recycle their own urine into drinking water to significantly reduce the amount of water that must be launched from Earth, thus lowering the mission costs.

More Water Available On-Demand: The capability to generate clean water on-demand provides more freedom and flexibility in spacewalks and longer-duration space missions for astronauts.

Simplified Waste Management: Reusing urine in the suit itself saves drinking water onboard from being filled with large quantities of wastewater, thus preventing hygiene risks and streamlining waste management procedures.

Going Beyond Astronauts: Terrestrial Applications

The technology behind the stillsuit can have even broader applications than sent to space.

Disaster Relief As light and effective systems for purifying water, they would be priceless in disaster relief missions where clean water sources are limited.

A stillsuit might be applied in the desert environment as a way of overcoming water scarcity in remote areas.

Military applications: With the stillsuit, soldiers despatched to hostile or draconian environments will be able to recycle their own water, cutting down on reliance on logistical supply lines.

The Road Ahead: Testing and Refinement

Although the stillsuit design has tremendous potential, it is not ready yet to be adopted as a standard component of astronaut wear:

Rigorous Testing: The system should undergo rigorous space environment simulation testing and even real-time spacewalk testing to check for all its reliability and functionality under all scenarios.

Safety and Sanitization: Extensive testings are required to ensure complete removal of impurities so that the water produced can meet the safety and hygiene standards to be consumed by humans.

Long-term performance: For the long-term performance of filtration, it must resist degradation due to water flow and be effective throughout the duration of a space mission.

User Acceptance: The astronauts will be trained and acclimated to the new design of the suit, and the comfort and acceptance of the urine collection system toward the astronauts would need to be assessed.

The Ethical Considerations: "Yuck Factor"

Drinking reused urine may be challenging for some to get used to. Of course, it should be stated here that what comes out at the end is no longer urine, as superior filtration processes remove all the unwanted impurities and waste products into pure and palatable water and indistinguishable from water coming out of other sources.

A Psychological Shift: Drinking Reused Water in Space

Hence, it overcomes this psychological aspect regarding the water that is obtained from the body through urine. Astronauts already use a closed-loop life support system on ISS, where recirculated air and water keep them alive. Still, the stillsuit takes this concept one step forward, moving further towards improving and sustaining water management in space.

Space Exploration in the Future: A New Suitable Path

The stillsuit is a significant advance in space exploration design. It opens opportunities to missions that were previously impossible for astronauts to go on, such as:

Longer and More Ambitious Missions: Recycling water on demand means there's no more water limitation as regards travel distance and duration.

Sustainable Space Habitats: Still-suit technology could also be applied toward an autarkic space habitat, perhaps making human settlement on the Moon or Mars feasible.

A Paradigm Shift in Resource Management: The stillsuit represented a new model for resource management in space, closing in on a virtually waste-free outcome that would maximize minimal efficiency.

Looking Beyond: Inspirations for a Water-Conscious Earth

And it is an inspiration to the more water-conscious approach here on Earth. With the advancement made in filtration technology, such a system might possibly be used for wastewater treatment and water reuse in water-scarce regions. In summary, this illustrates resource usage and ingenuity in facing world problems for water.

A Closing Thought: From Science Fiction to Fact

A number of years ago, a recycled urine-wearing spacesuit to be reused as drinking water may have been science fiction. But with scientists' efforts, the "stillsuit" quickly moves toward becoming fact. This technology may prove to be one of the entry points for revolutionary space exploration that would lead to establishing long-term habitats in space and stimulating water-consciousness on Earth in the future. This stillsuit, at the moment, is an interesting means of living testimony to human ingenuity and our ability to adjust to and thrive in the most challenging environments possible.