NASA has reached a technological milestone that could one day play an important role in missions to the Moon and beyond. As reported by Space.com, last week the space agency announced that the International Space Station’s Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) has recycled 98 percent of all the fluids astronauts produce on the station. Functionally, you can imagine the system working similarly to the clothes described in Frank Herbert’s Dune story. Part of the ECLSS uses “advanced desiccants” to capture the moisture that station crews breathe in and sweat as they go about their daily duties.
Another subsystem, called the “Urine Processor Assembly,” recycles astronauts’ urine with the help of vacuum distillation. The distillation process produces a urinary brine that still contains water and recoverable H2O, NASA notes. The agency recently began testing a new device that can remove residual water from salt water, thanks to which NASA has achieved a 98 percent water recovery at the ISS, where the station previously recycles about 93 to 94 percent of the water that astronauts bring aboard. achieved the rate.
A crucial step forward in the evolution of life support systems
“This is a very important step forward in the evolution of life support systems,” said Christopher Brown of NASA, part of the team managing the life support systems of the International Space Station. “Let’s say you collect 100 pounds (45kg) of water on the station. You lose two pounds (about 1 kg) of that, and the other 98 percent remains used. To be able to continue this is a tremendous achievement.”
If the thought of drinking someone else’s urine upsets your stomach, you needn’t worry about the astronauts. “The way it’s processed is fundamentally similar to some terrestrial water delivery systems, just in microgravity,” said Jill Williamson, NASA’s ECLSS water subsystems manager. drinks clean drinking water.”
Systems like the ECLSS will be critical as NASA conducts more missions beyond Earth orbit, Williamson said. “The less water and oxygen we need to send, the more science equipment we can add to the launch vehicle,” Williamson said. “Reliable, robust regenerative systems mean crews don’t have to worry about this and can focus on the core purpose of their mission.”
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