Scientists at Cornell University are developing a real-life version of the “stillsuit” seen in the Frank Herbert sci-fi film Dune, which could be used by future astronauts on missions to the International Space Station, the Moon and beyond.
In order to survive on the brutally arid world of Arrakis, the humans inhabiting Herbert’s fictional desert world were forced to develop specialized clothing designed to capture every drop of bodily fluid and recycle it for reuse. These ‘stillsuits’ prevented moisture loss while filtering the body’s sweat and urine to provide potable water, allowing the Fremen people to thrive under the harsh glare of Arrakis’ star.
Now scientists are trying to use similar technology to improve the lives of astronauts conducting arduous spacewalks on the outer hull of the International Space Station (ISS) and possibly on future missions to the surface of the Moon and Mars.
The impracticality and staggering cost of shipping fresh water to the ISS has led to the space station being equipped with a life support system that recycles 98% of the crew’s wastewater. However, during spacewalks, astronauts have no choice but to relieve themselves in advanced adult diapers called Maximum Absorbency Garments (MAG). These diapers are worn between the suit and the crew member’s bare skin.
As you can imagine, this can be quite an unpleasant experience, both in terms of hygiene and comfort, especially when you consider how long an average spacewalk is and that the space diapers don’t always work that well.
“The MAG has reportedly leaked and caused health problems, including urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal upset,” said Sofia Etlin, a research fellow at Cornell University who was the lead author of the study describing the invention. “In addition, astronauts currently only have one liter of water available in their hydration bladders in their suits. This is insufficient for the planned, long-duration spacewalks on the moon, which can last 10 hours, and in emergencies up to 24 hours.”
Cornell’s proposed solution would see NASA and its partners switch to a more elegant approach to microgravity bath time, in which waste urine is sucked out of a molded silicone “collection cup” placed around the genitals using a moisture-activated vacuum pump. “I’ve been a fan of the Dune series for as long as I can remember,” Etlin explained in an interview with Science News . “Building a truly stationary suit was always a bit of a dream.”
The water is then sent to an eight-kilogram filtration backpack that uses osmosis to purify the fluid, removing uric acid, ammonia, calcium and urea before enriching it with electrolytes and returning it to the suit’s water supply. Delicious. According to the design published in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies, the system will be able to purify 500 ml in about five minutes while using less than 10 percent of the spacesuit’s energy.
Is the concept as elegant as the stillsuit worn by Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two film adaptation? No, but it certainly sounds more appealing than the current generation of absorbent astropants used by the ISS crew today. The team plans to test a prototype of their “stillsuit” system on Earth in a simulated microgravity environment before an astronaut dons the experimental technology for a real-world test drive at some point in the future.
Want more space news? Read about NASA’s plan to send astronauts back to the moon as part of the Artemis program. Or read about SpaceX’s most recent Starship test flight, which saw the rocket’s massive booster make a mighty splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video game news for IGN. He has over eight years of experience covering groundbreaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your antics. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer