astronauts’ spacesuits They still have the same urine collection system from the 1980s. It’s like giant diapers, unhygienic and not at all comfortable, and it also loses a lot of water. And unlike what happens when they pee in International Space Stationin which case the water from urination cannot be recycled. To finally change this ancient device, it was necessary to resort to science fiction, as a group of scientists from Cornell University developed a very interesting system based on the suits they use in Dune.
The space travelers in this saga use spacesuits in whichurine and sweat water It is recycled for drinking. Let’s not forget that this is a desert planet where water is scarce. The diaper system used by astronauts in real life is much less sophisticated. But the truth is that what they do in Dune It’s not something that crazy.
These scientists published the results of tests of their first prototype in The Frontiers of Space Technology. They were very positive and hope that the astronauts going to the moon in Artemis Missions and those who win Mars For the first time, they will be able to carry this system in their spacesuits.
Spacesuits without diapers… It’s about time
The International Space Station has systems to collect and recycle urine to provide drinking water for astronauts. However, when they go on spacewalks outside of facilities, they sometimes spend so many hours there that they can’t wait to get back in to pee. That’s why the spacesuits have the old diaper system they hate so much. But a lot of water is lost, and in space, every drop counts.
Scientists at Cornell University, recognizing the need to modernize spacesuits, came up with a great idea. The device just unveiled consists of three parts. Collection cup, pump system and backpack with filter.
How does each of them work?
The collection cup can have two different shapes for adaptation. both male and female genitalia. The inner surface is made of a layer of polyester microfiber or a mixture of nylon and spandex. Thanks to this, urine is kept away from the body and directed to Vacuum pump.
It can’t be active all the time. It would be ineffective. So it has an absorbent hydrogel attached to it. humidity sensor which activates the pump only when urine is deposited.
Finally, a vacuum pump directs the urine into a filter system where recycled with 87% efficiency. This happens in two stages. First, a concentration gradient is performed to remove water from the urine. This water will have a high salt content, so the system also has a pump that separates the water from the salt.
In the second stage, purified water enriched with electrolytes and pumped into a drink bag, which is also built into the suits. It takes just five minutes to collect and filter half a liter of urine.
This entire filtration system is housed in a very compact and convenient backpack.
When will he be able to join the suits?
The prototype is already ready. As the authors of the study explained in the statement, the next step will be to test it on simulated microgravity conditions. If all goes well, a series of tests will be conducted using real spacesuits. There is still some research to do, but everything looks very good. From now on, Dune will be the favorite saga of astronauts.
Source: Hiper Textual
