The Morning After: Dune-inspired spacesuit recycles astronauts’ urine into drinkable water

by Shivendra Singh · July 15, 2024

A new space suit designed by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune, could make spacewalks longer and less disgusting by recycling expelled urine in a special filtration backpack.

The traditional NASA spacesuit design has been in circulation since the 1970s and only has an absorbent polymer to catch astronauts’ urine. This outdated waste system has also led to hygiene and medical issues, like urinary tract infections (UTIs) and gastrointestinal problems, for astronauts. It’s not just for sci-fi whimsy.

The new ‘stillsuits’ have a “vacuum-based external catheter leading to a combined forward-reverse osmosis unit” astronauts carry on their back. The suits were designed for future NASA space missions, including the Artemis II and Artemis III missions, both headed to the moon. However, NASA hasn’t adopted this spacesuit or its technology yet.

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