Posted on 07/12/2024 8:30:31 AM PDT by Red Badger
The new spacesuit design (illustrated) that collects urine and recycles it into drinking water weighs around 8 kilograms and can purify half a liter of water in five minutes.
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In the science-fiction series Dune, the desert-dwelling Fremen of the arid planet Arrakis recycle their body’s moisture using specially designed outfits called stillsuits. Inspired by such imaginings, a new prototype spacesuit converts astronauts’ urine into drinkable water, researchers report July 12 in Frontiers in Space Technology.
“I’ve been a fan of the Dune series for as long as I can remember,” says Sofia Etlin, a space medicine and policy researcher at Cornell University. “Building a real life stillsuit was always a bit of a dream.”
While suited up in space, astronauts currently relieve themselves into what’s known as a maximum absorbency garment, which is essentially a multilayered diaper containing a super-absorbent polymer (SN: 3/11/11). The garment is known to be uncomfortable, leak and cause urinary tract infections.
Current spacesuit designs also incorporate an in-suit drinking bag, or IDB, that carries less than a liter of water. Astronauts can sometimes go for eight- to 12-hour spacewalks, which often includes enormous amounts of physical exertion, Etlin says. NASA’s future Artemis missions on the moon will probably see explorers spending at least as much time or longer on the lunar surface, though current plans have them carrying IDBs of the same size, she says (SN: 12/1/22).
Etlin and her colleagues designed and built a new type of undergarment with a collection cup that goes over an astronaut’s private parts. Urine is routed into a filtration system that first removes salty water from the urine and then uses a pump to take the salt out from that water. The filtered water is enriched with electrolytes and then sent into the IDB.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenews.org ...
Assuming its worked out, I could immediately see this in combat equipment if its not too heavy. Maybe only workable on moterized vehicles however.
Well, fine — but does Amazon sell astronaut pee?
FROM UPI:
Cornell researchers unveil urine collection, filtration system for astronaut spacesuits
Astronauts on NASA’s upcoming missions to return to the moon and beyond may have a solution to the age-old problem of urinating while suited up thanks to a novel U.S.-developed system that collects and recycles wastewater into potable water inside their spacesuit. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo
July 12 (UPI) —
Space crews on NASA’s upcoming mission to orbit the moon in 2025 and land at its south pole in 2026 may have a solution to the age-old problem of urinating while suited up thanks to a novel U.S.-developed system that collects and recycles wastewater into potable water inside their spacesuit.
Inspired by the full-body “stillsuits” worn in the Dune sci-fi movies, scientists at Cornell University have designed a prototype urine collection and filtration system they say replaces the uncomfortable and unhygienic adult diaper-type maximum absorbency garment worn by generations of long-suffering astronauts since the late 1970s, according to a news release from the Frontiers research platform.
The design, an undergarment made of multiple layers of flexible fabric connected to a sex-specific-shaped collection silicone cup, molded to enclose the genitalia, from where urine is sucked away by a vacuum pump activated by a moisture-sensitive RFID-tag, is detailed in an experimental study published Friday in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Space Technologies.
“The design includes a vacuum-based external catheter leading to a combined forward-reverse osmosis unit, providing a
continuous supply of potable water with multiple safety mechanisms to ensure astronaut wellbeing,” said first author Sofia Etlin, a staff researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University who is also a founding member of Fremen Space, a commercial start-up working to bring the system to market.
“The MAG has reportedly leaked and caused health issues such as urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal distress. Additionally, astronauts currently have only one liter of water available in their in-suit drink bags. This is insufficient for the planned, longer-lasting lunar spacewalks, which can last ten hours, and even up to 24 hours in an emergency,” Etlin said.
The urine is recycled via an 87% efficient, two-step filtration system that uses a concentration gradient to remove water from urine with a pump to split water from salt. The purified water is then enriched in electrolytes and pumped into an in-suit drinking bag, with a turnaround time for 17 ounces of waste of about five minutes.
The 40-amp-hour battery-powered system integrates control pumps, sensors, and a liquid-crystal display screen that measures 15” by 9” by 9” and weighs 17.6 pounds and is awaiting testing in space-simulated conditions and eventually on actual spacewalks.
“Our system can be tested in simulated microgravity conditions, as microgravity is the primary space factor we must account for,” said lead author Dr. Christopher E. Mason, a professor at Weill Cornell Medicine.
“These tests will ensure the system’s functionality and safety before it is deployed in actual space missions.”
Weight: 8 kg, about 18 pounds................
Where do you think TANG comes from?..................
sounds like something NASA would love.
3 pounds on Luna.
Thirsty? Just wet your pants lol
Not ready for prime time at that weight, there’s already too much soldiers carry. Not with unassisted means then.
On the disgusting side, I can see our homosexual friends enjoying this technology.
Any fan of Dune already knows that the seitches smell really funky..................
“Assuming its worked out, I could immediately see this in combat equipment if its not too heavy.”
Yeah, because with the hundreds of billions we spend on the military, it’s just asking -too- much to supply pure drinking water to the men.
Why we waste money on this is beyond me. Meanwhile, they know what ever they want to know about you using the dollars we provide them. However, they want us to know nothing about them.
Such good servants they are!!
That is interesting, but what if one blows a fart in a space suit? Is it stuck in there until you get the suit off?
The movie ‘Jackass’ explored that unique possibility...........
It would work here in Earth deserts as well.................
= = =
Better wipe off sweat before it evaporates and recycle that too. But it seems this scheme has a net loss.
I can drink 2 quarts of water in dry heat, and pee out about 1 cup. The rest doesn’t even produce visible sweat really, it just evaporates right out of the pores.
I thought that was from Water World.
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