Astronauts on spacewalks have a messy problem: where to “go.”
Frank Herbert’s “Dune” has come to the rescue.
Scientists inspired by the sci-fi novel and film series have designed a lightweight filtration system that, like the full-body “stillsuit” worn by inhabitants of the fictional planet Arrakis, would purify urine and allow the wearer to sip the reclaimed water.
“Rather than astronauts having to wear diapers, the system collects the urine and then filters it and returns it as potable water within the suit,” said Sofia Etlin, a research staff member at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, and an author of a study published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies.
NASA’s current spacesuit uses an absorbent diaper to collect urine and feces.
The real-life stillsuit is an undergarment made of multiple layers of flexible fabric that connects to a collection cup, with different shapes for men and women. As the garment draws urine away from the body, a vacuum pump sucks it into a filtration system, where osmosis filters out the water, mixes the clean water with an electrolyte solution and pumps it back into the suit for the astronaut to drink.
Astronauts are currently provided with 32 ounces of water on spacewalks, according to the researchers. They say that is insufficient for being outside a spacecraft, a physically draining activity that can last eight hours. The recycled urine would supplement their water supply.
The filtration takes about 5 minutes and processes 17 ounces of urine. It doesn’t handle feces, but the researchers said that is a goal.
The filtration system weighs about 17.5 pounds and is carried on the back of a pressurized spacesuit. Etlin, who said she read “Dune” when she was 15 years old, hopes to develop the suit for the growing number of astronauts joining the private space industry.
“We’re talking about a completely new set of commercial astronauts that might not be as interested in using diapers,” said Etlin, who published the study with Christopher Mason, professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine.
The team will test the suit this fall during a planned clinical trial at the Cornell lab. A chief goal, they said, is to produce a more comfortable and functional spacesuit.
“As we all know,” Mason said, “it’s good to stay hydrated.”
Write to Eric Niiler at eric.niiler@wsj.com