Arrakis-style spacesuits can convert urine into water within 5 minutes

We saw the residents of Arrakis in Dune killing people to gain access to their body water created after filtering their body fluids, like sweat and urine. All this was possible because of the stillsuits the Fremen wore which did the job and provided the wearer with water in the harsh climate of Arrakis. Now, scientists have created a real-life stillsuit for astronauts.

This stillsuit prototype, or the spacesuit, can collect and purify urine, before returning it to the astronaut through a drinking tube within five minutes. The spacesuit is particularly of interest now as it can prove to be crucial in space missions aiming to send people to the moon and beyond.

The creators of the stillsuit are hoping to deploy it soon enough so that it can be used in NASA’s Artemis programme. The Artemis mission aims to send people to the moon and set up bases there to help man move to Mars from there. The Artemis I mission will send a crewed spacecraft to the moon in September 2025 which will hover over the moon.

In September 2026, NASA aims to land people on the moon with the Artemis III mission. A spacesuit that creates water using body fluids can prove crucial for when humans land on other celestial bodies. The space agency wants to launch humans to Mars from the lunar bases by the 2030s.

Design of the spacesuit

Sofia Etlin, a researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University and co-designer of the suit, says the suit can provide a "continuous supply of potable water with multiple safety mechanisms to ensure astronaut wellbeing".

"The design includes a vacuum-based external catheter leading to a combined forward-reverse osmosis unit."

A collection cup of moulded silicone fits around the genitalia and is inside an undergarment of multiple layers of flexible fabric. As the astronaut urinates in the cup, a moisture-activated vacuum pump switches on automatically. The urine is then diverted to the filtration system where it gets recycled into water with an efficiency of 87%.

Notably, recycled urine and sweat are a source of water on the International Space Station. However, Etlin says that a spacesuit that does the same is important for when "astronauts are out on expedition".

Problems with the current waste management system

Astronauts have often complained about the so-called maximum absorbency garment (MAG), or an adult nappy, they wear. They are leak-prone and unhygienic. “The astronauts talk about how at a certain point they can’t tell whether it’s urine or sweat any more. They’re like: ‘Yes, I’m an astronaut and this is a burden I have to bear'," Etlin says.

The garment has also caused astronauts to suffer from urinary tract infections (UTIs).