A team of scientists from Cornell University has designed a revolutionary spacesuit that can recycle urine into drinking water.
The prototype, inspired by the “stillsuits” from the sci-fi series Dune, uses a combination of forward and reverse osmosis to remove salt and other substances from urine, producing clean drinking water.
This technology aims to address the limitations of current spacesuits, which can only hold up to one liter of water, making it difficult for astronauts to perform lengthy spacewalks.
The new spacesuit uses a vacuum-based external catheter connected to a filtration system, which can recycle urine into drinking water in just a few minutes.
The system is designed to be compact and lightweight, weighing around 8kg, and can be carried on the back of the spacesuit.
The researchers plan to test the design in simulated microgravity conditions before using it on actual space missions, which could improve astronaut hygiene and mission efficiency.
The scientists hope to deploy the new spacesuit in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the Moon and eventually to Mars.
This technology could be a game-changer for future space missions, enabling astronauts to stay hydrated during long spacewalks and reducing the need for resupply missions.
