Contemplated long-duration missions to the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids, and Mars will be mass-constrained. The successful development and application of ionomer-microporous membrane pair technology to spacecraft water processing will lead to improvements in the efficiency, robustness, and reliability of these systems. These improvements will in turn translate directly into safety improvements and mass reductions..
The non-NASA applications are significant as fresh water demands are becoming a serious problem at various regions of the planet. The technology generated here may very well help improve the efficiency and/or portability of terrestrial-based water recovery systems. The technology has obvious military applications as well, e.g., potable water production for long term military outposts.
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