When Frank Herbert imagined the “Stillsuit”, the still space suits for his novel “Dune”, he probably didn't think that one day NASA would take inspiration from his imagination. Yet, here we are: water in space is about to become a reality, thanks to technology that turns bodily waste into liquid gold. It's the end of space diapers and the beginning of a new era in cosmic exploration. Ready to find out how pee could help future space missions? Sure, put it like that...
The art of peeing in space: a complicated story
Talking about pee is never elegant, but water in space becomes a matter of life and death. Until now, astronauts have had to rely on what is pompously called a "maximum absorbency garment." In simple terms? A super-absorbent diaper. Eh. I know. That is.
They're not only uncomfortable, mind you, but they can also cause urinary tract infections. Not quite up to our imagination. But now there could be a turning point.
Water in space: from problem to solution
A team of researchers decided to take the bull by the horns, or rather, pee by the tube, by designing a new type of underwear that doesn't just collect urine, but turns it into drinkable water. Take a look at the research to produce the prototype. It's like having a mini sewage treatment plant attached to your butt.
The suit can purify half a liter of water in space in five minutes
From the research team's notes
Half a liter in five minutes? That's faster than it takes the office coffee maker to brew me an espresso. And probably healthier, considering how much coffee we all drink, but I'm not willing to try it.
How does it work?
The system is as ingenious as it is disgusting (in a good way, of course). The urine is collected in a kind of anatomical cup (imagine a high-tech egg cup) and then sent to a filtration system.
First the salt water is removed from the urine, then the salt is removed from that water. Finally, the water is enriched with electrolytes and sent to the drinking bag. It's like having a mini mineral water plant in your underwear. And it can be very useful, for example, in future projects Artemis lunar missions.
Not quite a Fremen suit, but close
Obviously those were powered by body movement (they're working on it) while our astronauts will have to carry a 20,5 volt battery with them. The entire system, including pumps, sensors and displays, weighs approximately 8 kg. Not quite light as a feather, but definitely better than dying of thirst in space.
The researchers admit that sweat would be easier to filter than urine. But they decided to focus on just one “waste product” for their first prototype. “One step at a time,” they say. Wise decision. After all, you can't expect to go from diapers to Fremen suits in a single day.
Water in space has "effects" on earth: from firefighters to hikers
Don't think, like some lazy commentators, that this technology is only useful in space. Julio Rezende, from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, sees potential terrestrial applications. Imagine firefighters fighting forest fires or hikers on long trails, able to recycle their body fluids into drinking water.
Researchers continue to test and refine their system, and one day we will bring not only water with us into space, but our ability to turn waste into resources. Because in the end the real frontier is not space, but our ability to adapt and survive in it. And if that means drinking our purified pee, well, so be it. After all, there is nothing that human ingenuity cannot turn into an opportunity. Even if that opportunity comes in liquid form and… decidedly personal.
