New York: Scientists has developed a revolutionary spacesuit that can recycle urine into drinking water, potentially allowing astronauts to perform lengthy spacewalks during lunar expeditions. The spacesuit is designed so that it collects urine, purifies it, and returns it to the astronaut through a drinking tube within five minutes.
The creators of the spacesuit aim to deploy it in NASA’s Artemis program, which focuses on prolonged lunar missions. Sofia Etlin, a researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, stated that, “It includes a vacuum-based external catheter and a forward-reverse osmosis unit, providing continuous potable water with multiple safety mechanisms.”
NASA’s Artemis III mission, set for 2026, plans to land a crew on the lunar south pole, with future ambitions for crewed Mars missions by the 2030s. While the International Space Station already recycles urine and sweat, Etlin emphasized the need for a similar system during spacewalks. The spacesuit suits offer only one litre of water, insufficient for spacewalks lasting up to 24 hours in emergencies.
The stillsuit system features a silicone collection cup, tailored for men and women, within a multilayered undergarment. A vacuum pump activates upon urination, directing the urine to the filtration system, which recycles it into water with 87 percent efficiency. The purified water, enriched with electrolytes, can then be consumed.
Weighing approximately 8kg, the compact system will undergo testing with 100 volunteers in New York to ensure comfort and functionality in simulated microgravity conditions before its potential deployment on space missions.
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