New space suit design may mean astronauts won't have to wear diapers

As It Happens7:20New space suit design may mean astronauts won't have to wear diapers

It may sound gross, but it's actually an upgrade. A team of researchers has developed a prototype for a space suit that may one day allow astronauts to drink their own pee while in space. 

It's either that, or diapers. 

"We've all definitely peed in it, but I'm not sure we're quite at the point of tasting," Sofia Etlin, a researcher at Cornell University and co-designer of the suit, told As It Happens guest host Peter Armstrong. 

"But, she says, she expects the final filtered product will have a different taste than a regular bottle of water.

"Perhaps, sweet and sour," said Etlin with a laugh. 

Etlin, who is working on a Bachelor of Science in astrobiology, says her design is a work in progress but would take the urine from an astronaut's space suit and filter it within the suit, making it ready to drink. Etlin says it's perfect for an astronaut on a long spacewalk, or even on the moon or Mars. 

'It was possible'

Etlin says she was inspired by Dune, the classic sci-fi novels and recent movies. In the Dune universe, a stillsuit is a full-body suit worn on the desert planet of Arrakis. It lets the characters preserve their body's oh-so-valuable moisture by absorbing sweat and urine then filtering it to make it drinkable. 

"I just thought it was possible," said Etlin. "I read it and was like, there definitely are some applications for this, and it doesn't sound impossible to create."

Two-and-a-half years ago, before she attended her first year at Cornell, Etlin started to work on the space suit. And she emailed professor Christopher Mason, who she hadn't met yet, to tell him about about the project. He encouraged her to keep going with it, she said. Etlin now works with him on the project.

Initially, astronauts used condom catheters in their space suits to collect urine while on spacewalks or extravehicular missions, but when women joined their ranks, the catheter was replaced by diapers.

Etlin's suit uses a vacuum-based external catheter with something called forward-reverse osmosis to collect the urine.

Future of the project

Shawna Pandya, a Canadian astronaut who is set to go to space through Virgin Galactic's new Delta-class flight, says anything that can make life in space better is worth pursuing. 

"Any type of novel thinking we can apply to keep astronauts hydrated while out on [extravehicular activities], without adding extra mass can go a long way toward keeping astronauts healthy and productive during a lunar sojourn, and help contribute to overall mission success," said Pandya in an email. 

But Etlin's design isn't finished yet. It is currently at 87 per cent filtration. She says that's enough for a prototype that proves it can work, and it's not like perfection is the goal. The International Space Station's system, which has astronauts pee into specially designed space toilets, which usually involve a funnel and hose for urine, gets to about 98 per cent filtration. That is then turned into drinking water, much like Etlin's on-the-go design.

"Astronauts are more than used to drinking their own urine which is, I guess, good for us," said Etlin.

Etlin is confident her invention will be implemented in space suits in the near future. But she says she and her colleagues need to work with astronauts to make sure the device is as comfortable as it can be.

"I definitely don't think that in a decade astronauts are going to be wearing diapers," said Etlin. 

"It's so archaic that it's sort of bonkers that no one's done anything about this. And I hope that I'm contributing to furthering that."

But Etlin says it's not just for astronauts. As space tourism continues to grow, she says this will provide an alternative to diapers for those looking to spend their many dollars going to outer space. 

She said it won't fly "if you're a billionaire and you're paying hundreds of thousands to go to the moon, and then you're finally going to go on that spacewalk, and the first, the first thing you put on is a diaper."