Page 101 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

Fluids and Clean Water

Whether in the vacuum of space or the relative comfort of the Earth’s surface, access to clean water
is essential for living organisms. The challenges of moving and processing fluids such as water using
compact, reliable systems in the microgravity environment of space have led to advances in the way
we purify water sources on the ground. Testing methods developed to ensure water quality on the
International Space Station (ISS) have led to advancements in water monitoring here on Earth.
Investigations into the basic dynamics of how fluids move in space have also led to advances
in medical diagnostic devices.

More Efficient, Lightweight Water media is not a viable option. The membrane can
Filtration Technologies in Space potentially achieve a water permeability two orders
and on Earth of magnitude higher compared to existing reverse
osmosis membranes on Earth, thus implying a great
A safe living environment for astronauts in space is application on Earth with respect to fresh water supply
essential. On future human exploration missions, through desalination of seawater and brackish water.
improved technologies including biologically
regenerative life support systems will provide a means The Aquaporin Space Alliance (ASA) is commercializing
to reduce and optimize upload mass and hence have the patented Aquaporin Inside™ technology in space
a positive effect on mission costs. In September 2015, applications and space programs together with
an important technology experiment supported by the European and U.S.-based entities. ASA is a joint
European Space Agency (ESA) was performed for the venture company created by Aquaporin A/S and
first time with promising test results. This experiment Danish Aerospace Company ApS.
tested the efficiency of a forward osmosis biomimetic
membrane technology to filter certain semi-volatile
substances from ISS condensate and confirm that
it exceeds the filtration performance of current
ISS water recovery systems. Forward osmosis
technologies offer a far more resource-efficient
means of filtration compared to the more common
reverse osmosis techniques. The successful testing
of this membrane provides a more resource-efficient
means to filter/reclaim water in space (and on Earth).
This would help reduce upload mass of expendable
media currently used in water processing on the ISS,
and holds a promising technology for use on future
exploration missions where resupply of expendable

Forward osmosis technologies
offer a far more resource-efficient
means of filtration compared
to the more common reverse ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen working on
osmosis techniques. the AquaMembrane experiment.
Image credit: ESA and NASA

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