Water:

A Critical Material

Enabling Space

Exploration

Karen D. Pickering

NASA Johnson Space Center

Houston, TX, 77058

Presentation Outline

Where is NASA going?

Why is water critical to NASA’s mission?

Recovering water from wastewater

Water quality for humans and hardware

Technology needs for exploration

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Acronym Primer

ISS = International Space Station

WRS = Water recovery system

EVA = Extravehicular activity

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So what is NASA really doing?

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Recovery of water from wastewater is an enabling

technology to explore beyond low Earth orbit

Open-loop life support system resupply mass 12,000 kg/person-year

(26,500 lbs/person-year)

Systems Maintenance 2.1%

Gases lost to space 2.1%

Crew Supplies 2.1%

Food (dry) 2.2%

Oxygen 2.5%

Water 89%

10,680 kg (23,545 lbs)

(2827 gallons)

Human life support requirements

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Human mass balance

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Water requirements change as mission

matures

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Urine Humidity

Condensate

International Space Station Recovered Wastewater

Wastewater on ISS

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Shower Water

Food

Laundry

Hand Wash

Shave

Oral Hygiene

Wastewater on a planetary surface

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RECOVERING WATER FROM

WASTEWATER

urine

50%

humidity

condensate

50%

International Space Station

Recycle urine and

humidity condensate

●Distillation

● Adsorption

● Ion exchange

●Catalytic oxidation

●Disinfection

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ISS Life Support Systems

13

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Stored Water

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On-orbit work with water containers

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Exploration Systems

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Technology for Exploration

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WATER QUALITY FOR HUMANS

AND HARDWARE

Drinking Water Quality on ISS

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Contaminant identification

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Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)

Dimethylsilanediol (DSMD)

trimethylsilanol dimethylsulfone

Metal silicate coating

Urine and solubility

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Urine solids on orbit

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What happens when you DON’T stabilize

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Tear Down and Inspection

NASA Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU)

Silicate

Blockage

Unused Drum

for Comparison

Corroded Braze Joint

Conclusions

Water impacts human health and safety in space

Hardware developers need help defining WHAT water

quality is required for their hardware

Water recovery enables American’s future space

exploration

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QUESTIONS

Thank you

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