Scientists are developing a revolutionary spacesuit that could turn astronauts’ urine into drinkable water, inspired by the sci-fi hit Hollywood movie ‘Dune‘.
Researchers at Axiom Space are working on a spacesuit that’s inspired by the still suits worn by the characters in the epic sci-fi movie ‘Dune’ and could turn bodily fluids into water. The initiative was taken by the scientists to make astronauts more comfortable and hygienic and to keep them hydrated during their spacewalks.
Currently, the astronauts wear a multi-layered adult diaper called a Maximum Absorbency Garment (MAG) that can hold up to two litres of waste.
But as the new study suggests, this adult diaper makes astronauts uncomfortable, and it can cause UTIs and rashes. It’s also prone to leaks, making it a nightmare for astronauts to use it.
Also, the water holding capacity of the current spacesuits is only 1 litre, which is certainly not enough to keep the astronauts hydrated during their spacewalks, which last about 6 hours on average.
The new spacesuit is designed to be much more comfortable and provide astronauts with drinkable water almost instantly. The astronaut will wear an undergarment made of flexible fabric that will contain a silicone cup that is of different shapes and sizes, designed to fit around men’s and women’s genitalia, to make it more comfortable to wear.
Then a vacuum pump will carry the astronaut’s urine from the spacesuit to the filtration system fitted on its back. The filtering system will then separate the salts from the water and convert up to 500 ml of urine into water in 5 minutes with a proficiency of 87%.
The system weighs around 8 kg and measures 38cm by 23cm by 23cm, which experts suggest is compact and light to carry on the back of a spacesuit.
This spacesuit will be a huge breakthrough for future space missions, such as the Artemis mission, which aims to land astronauts on the moon and eventually Mars. However, more research and human trials are required for this spacesuit to be used by astronauts.
