You might not have been aware of it, but those "spacewalks" that astronauts have to take in order to periodically patch up the Space Station or the shuttle — well, those things can take a long time. Sometimes up to eight hours!
As you might imagine, those astronauts still have to, you know, use the restroom every now and then. And, yes, they wear special "garments" designed to ... well, you know.
But resources are very short in space! And honestly those space diapers are just not that comfortable and can lead to a host of problems including rashes and other gross things.
So scientists are trying to figure out a potential way to recycle some of that ... well, you know:
[Current astronaut extra-vehicular activities] suits were designed more than 40 years ago, and NASA currently does not have concrete plans to renew or replace them. ...
To 'promote astronaut wellbeing,' [researchers] have designed a novel in-suit urine collection and filtration system, or "Dune" system," Etlin said.
The system would recycle urine using forward and reverse osmosis, a model used by the current wastewater management treatment system aboard the space station, to remove contaminants from the urine and filter it to drinking water.
The proposed technology is called the "Dune system" due to its resemblance to the water-recycling "stillsuits" worn by the characters in that franchise:
The function of the system is about what you'd expect:
The device would have several layers of fabric, including an antimicrobial fabric, to allow urine to be drawn away from the body quickly to the outer surface of the cup, where it can be pumped away, reducing the health risk posed by extended exposure to the urine.
The liquid would then enter the filtration system, a two-step apparatus that removes water from urine into a salt solution, with a pump then separating pure water from salt.
And after that ... well:
Not exactly the most appetizing thought! But in space you really have to take what you can get:
'In the Artemis missions, astronauts might be out there for hours and hours on end, or there might be sort of emergency scenarios where they need to return to the base, but their rover broke down. You have all sorts of contingency scenarios where you need water and you need a waste system that isn't limited to what a diaper can hold.'
I think I will just stay here on Earth where the water comes out of the faucet, thanks!
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