Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Life Support Systems project Wastewater Processing and Water Management task: Within an integrated life support system, water recovery systems provide water for use by various environmental control and life support functions on board the spacecraft. These functions may include drinking water, food re-hydration, water for crew hygiene, flush water for the spacecraft urinal, source water for oxygen generation, and, depending on the complexity of the life support system, water for crew shower and laundry. The wastewater streams that return from these uses and require treatment to be returned back to a potable state can include stabilized urine and flush water, humidity condensate, shower and laundry grey water, and water from carbon dioxide and wet-trash processing systems. The purpose of the water recovery system is to close the water loop by removing the contaminants associated with the various wastewater streams and then returning the balance of clean water back to the potable water bus in a stabilized form suitable for storage and reuse. This project is investigating the use of silver biocide to control water quality. This project is also developing a technology to use a biological reactor to process wastewater.
More »Using biocides in the potable water system is essential to providing clean water for the astronauts. On the International Space Station, iodine is used as a biocide, requiring hardware to remove the iodine prior to astronaut consumption. Silver does not need to be removed, so using silver as a biocide reduces the hardware systems needed. Using biological technology to process wastewater may allow for a system that can provide clean water to the astronauts in a smaller volume than the current state-of-the art used on the International Space Station.
More »Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
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Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) | Lead Organization | NASA Center | Huntsville, Alabama |
Ames Research Center (ARC) | Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Moffett Field, California |
Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. | Supporting Organization | Industry | Dallas, Texas |
Johnson Space Center (JSC) | Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Houston, Texas |
JSC Engineering, Technical, and Science (JETS) | Supporting Organization | Industry | Texas |
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) | Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
Paragon Space Development Corporation | Supporting Organization | Industry | Tucson, Arizona |
Texas Tech University | Supporting Organization |
Academia
Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI)
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Lubbock, Texas |
University of South Florida-Main Campus (USF) | Supporting Organization | Academia | Tampa, Florida |