A Dune-inspired space suit turns astronaut pee into drinkable water

While suiting up in space, astronauts are currently relieved by what’s known as a maximum absorbency garment, which is essentially a multi-layer diaper containing a super-absorbent polymer (SN: 3/11/11). The dressing is known to be uncomfortable, leaky and cause urinary tract infections.

Current spacesuit designs also include an in-suit beverage bag, or IDB, that carries less than a liter of water. Astronauts can sometimes do eight- to 12-hour spacewalks, which often involve large amounts of physical exercise, Etlin says. Future NASA Artemis missions to the Moon will probably see explorers spend at least as much time or more on the lunar surface, although 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 underwear with a collection cup that goes over an astronaut’s private parts. The urine is fed into a filtration system that first removes the salt water from the urine and then uses a pump to extract the salt from that water. The filtered water is enriched with electrolytes and then sent to the IDB.

A fictional Fremen movie suit is powered by body movement, but astronauts will have to carry a 20.5-volt battery as part of this new design. The entire system, including pumps, sensors and screen, weighs about 8 kilograms and can purify half a liter of water in five minutes.

Sweat — which even fictitious suits collect — would be easier to filter than urine, Etlin says. But she and her colleagues decided to focus on a single waste product for their first prototype. “One step at a time,” she says.

The team hopes to further test its system during simulated missions to the Moon and Mars here on Earth and eventually during real spacewalks.

“It would be amazing for us,” says Julio Rezende of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Natal, Brazil, who leads Habitat Marte, a Mars analog mission in Brazil. “I believe this technology will bring many benefits.”

Rezende also sees potential terrestrial spin-offs, such as a similar system that could be used for firefighters fighting wildfires or hikers on long trails.