Astronauts can drink their own urine during spacewalks

TPO - A new device could soon allow astronauts to drink purified water made from their filtered urine while on spacewalks.

Scientists have created a new system that can recycle water from astronauts' urine so they can drink it while on spacewalks. (Photo: NASA)

Getting out of the International Space Station (ISS) is challenging enough, let alone needing to use the bathroom while on a spacewalk. Now, scientists say they have invented a new way to collect astronauts' urine and recycle it into drinking water in just minutes.

For years, astronauts who spacewalk around the ISS have made do with disposable diapers inside their spacesuits, called maximum absorbent garments (MAGs). These suits, first designed in the early 1980s, collect and store urine, allowing astronauts to relieve themselves on the go. But because spacewalks can last up to eight hours, MAGs can be physically uncomfortable for astronauts and put them at risk of skin irritation and infection.

MAG also does not recycle water from urine, so when spacewalking, astronauts must rely on a fixed supply of nearly 1 liter of water that they carry in a drink pouch in their suits.

But now scientists say they have a solution to the problem: a new, lightweight system that can collect and clean about 500ml of urine fluid from a spacesuit in just five minutes.

How to handle urine when walking in space

If deployed, the system would involve astronauts wearing underwear made from a flexible compression material and lined with antibacterial fabric. The system would also include a moisture sensor that can sense urine; the sensor sits in a silicone cup beneath the wearer's genitals.

The detection of urine will turn on a vacuum pump, which then sucks the urine into a filter device carried on the astronaut's back. The filter is about 38 centimeters high and 23 centimeters wide. Inside the 8-kilogram filter device, the urine will be converted into fresh water that can then be put into the astronaut's drink bag.

The new system is still in its early testing stages. But if it makes it through development, it could help solve a dilemma for astronauts embarking on space exploration. The issue of how to dispose of urine during spacewalks is particularly relevant as NASA plans to establish a permanent outpost on the moon later this decade.

So far, in the lab, the device has been shown to effectively remove major components of urine and reduce salt levels to meet health standards, the team said.

The team also said it would need to test whether the device would work in real-world space conditions, such as microgravity. If successful in tests on Earth, the spacesuit would then be tested on actual spacewalks from the ISS.

Ha Thu

According to Live Science

Source: https://tienphong.vn/cac-phi-hanh-gia-co-the-duong-nuoc-tieu-cua-minh-khi-di-bo-ngoai-khong-space-post1654325.tpo