Stillsuit in Space.

[Eyes High]

Saw this up over at Worm's. Thought it was neat. Mahnmut bolded the section with the reference to Dune.

CAPE CANAVERAL — A textbook-sized kit that can convert urine into drinkable water will accompany NASA's last space shuttle mission this Friday.

Soldiers already use similar technology to filter out parasites, bacteria, viruses and other contaminants from dirty fluids, including urine, but NASA's adapted baggie system has yet to prove itself in space.

"This could be a first step toward recapturing the humidity from our sweat, from our breath, even from our urine, and recycling it and making it drinkable," said NASA project scientist and experiment leader Howard Levine, who made a reference to water-recycling "stillsuits" used on a desert world in the science fiction series Dune.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station already drink water from a pee-recycling machine delivered several years ago, but it saps power from the orbital laboratory's limited supply. The space-ready water conversion kit, however, won't need an external power source because it relies on a passive property of fluids called forward osmosis.

NASA's recycler will use a sugary solution injected into a semi-permeable inner bag, which is nested inside an outer bag. Dirty fluid that's pumped into the outer bag will slowly pass through the inner bag and into the sugary solution, leaving behind its contaminants. On Earth, the double-sack system makes about a liter of sports drink-like fluid in four to six hours.

One of the four astronauts aboard space shuttle Atlantis will test the recycler — with an experimental fluid, not their own urine — toward the end of their 12-day mission, scheduled for launch this Friday at 11:26 a.m. EDT.

Source

[Mandy]

That is awesome.

[DuneFishUK]

I want one.

...

[Tleszer]

Interesting...

[D Pope]

That's a great find Eyes, well done!

[Sandwurm88]

I love how its obvious that the astronauts are delaying drinking what used to be their own pee for as long as possible. It's like , they're taking this synthetic stuff...guys, why not try the real thing, huh? I'd probably be squeamish about it too, I wonder if it would still taste a bit off or anything.

[D Pope]

I was thinking that was the reason for the sports drink like suger they've added. Oh, & yeah, not a lot of confidence in the outcome- waiting for the end of the mission to try it.

Sorry guys, I can't resist...
Do you think they'll all be floating around waiting to see his expression when he takes that first sip?
Who could resist uttering that one word;
"Well?"

[Nekhrun]

Sorry guys, I can't resist...
Do you think they'll all be floating around waiting to see his expression when he takes that first sip?
Who could resist uttering that one word;
"Well?"

Can't be any worse than the first guy who drank another animal's milk.

[trang]

Cool find, waytogo Eyes. Hope it works out, be handy item.

Sad thing is the just fired the last mission for the only space vehicle whe have to get to the space station, or anywhere for that matter. No new space trucks for Nasa, no new space people carriers at all as far as I can see. Last I heard they are going backwards to a pod system like the old missions on a rocket.

When commercial LEO planes have made trips already, and more advanced and HEO planes are on the way. Why cant we make one too?

Shooting payloads into space on the top of rockets is fine, been doing that for years, and it works.

[DuneFishUK]

I was thinking that was the reason for the sports drink like suger they've added. Oh, & yeah, not a lot of confidence in the outcome- waiting for the end of the mission to try it.

Sorry guys, I can't resist...
Do you think they'll all be floating around waiting to see his expression when he takes that first sip?
Who could resist uttering that one word;
"Well?"

The first sip is one thing.

Passing it around for the rest of the crew to try is another.

[ULFsurfer]

Cool find, waytogo Eyes. Hope it works out, be handy item.

Sad thing is the just fired the last mission for the only space vehicle whe have to get to the space station, or anywhere for that matter. No new space trucks for Nasa, no new space people carriers at all as far as I can see. Last I heard they are going backwards to a pod system like the old missions on a rocket.

When commercial LEO planes have made trips already, and more advanced and HEO planes are on the way. Why cant we make one too?

Shooting payloads into space on the top of rockets is fine, been doing that for years, and it works.

The idea is that NASA lets commercial industry take over completely in terms of launching payloads and astronauts into orbit. This enables governmental money instead to be spent on developing deep space vehicles and later sending missions. But it's pretty gambly and naive to believe that the companies will be successful in the near future..

[ULFsurfer]

Regarding the stillsuit, I wouldn't mind for a second to drink it. All water we drink now has probably gone through thousands of animals over the years- pigs, geese, dinosaurs...

[D Pope]

The first sip is one thing.

Passing it around for the rest of the crew to try is another.

Please tell me you're a Black Adder fan-
the episode where he decides to sail off with Tom Baker as his Captain...

[trang]

Cool find, waytogo Eyes. Hope it works out, be handy item.

Sad thing is the just fired the last mission for the only space vehicle whe have to get to the space station, or anywhere for that matter. No new space trucks for Nasa, no new space people carriers at all as far as I can see. Last I heard they are going backwards to a pod system like the old missions on a rocket.

When commercial LEO planes have made trips already, and more advanced and HEO planes are on the way. Why cant we make one too?

Shooting payloads into space on the top of rockets is fine, been doing that for years, and it works.

The idea is that NASA lets commercial industry take over completely in terms of launching payloads and astronauts into orbit. This enables governmental money instead to be spent on developing deep space vehicles and later sending missions. But it's pretty gambly and naive to believe that the companies will be successful in the near future..

Commercialization of space is fine, but it has one drawback that NASA or governmental agencies don't, a bottom line/profit margin. Big Corps jamming it up the ass of NASA on payload costs can further slow any progress. NASA operates on a budget not if they have to make a profit, keeps folks focused more on the task, not cutting corners. NASA isn't perfect, and governmental programs for space expansion and exploration arent the perfect model. More folks in the mix is the best thing and keeps it going.

We should be a lot further along than we are, but I guess with world economy and financial disasters happening all over the globe along with wars, its gonna be a slow process. Maybe medical technology will make a life extension breakthrough when I hit my 60's and allow another hundred on top, so I can hang around and see all the cool shit thats gonna happen.

Its a spectator sport at this point for me, and I love every minute of it.