Scientists Develop New Spacesuit That Can Turn Urine Into Drinking Water Within Minutes

Astronauts living inside a space station have their own challenges. There, special arrangements are required for eating, drinking and passing urine. Similarly, toilet facility is a big challenge for the passengers living in the space station. Till now, astronauts have been using a special type of diaper to pass urine in space, which is provided to them by NASA. But now scientists have invented a new device which will convert urine into drinking water!

New Scientist According to the report, researchers in New York have prepared a device weighing 8 kg that can be fitted in a space suit. It will have an osmosis filter with the help of which it will convert urine into potable water. Scientists from Cornell University talked about this new device. Frontiers in Space Technology Reported in a journal named.

The research team noted that the diaper system currently in use may be a short-term solution to this problem. But if the activities of astronauts continue for a long time during a space walk, then a long-term solution will also be required.

NASA currently provides Maximum Absorbency Garment to astronauts to pass urine. It is actually an adult diaper in which urine and feces collect. At the end of the space walk, they are released into the space station’s waste system, after which they are incinerated there in space.

Under the new system, scientists have invented a device which is light in weight. It separates water from urine and purifies it. This process is completed in just 5 minutes. It will also be fitted with a humidity sensor which will automatically detect urine.

As soon as urine is detected, a vacuum pump starts which sucks the urine into the filtering device. It extracts water from urine, cleans and purifies it, then sends it to the drinking bag fitted in the space suit. Although the system is still in its initial stage, it has been tested working effectively in the lab.