Water Walls System To Support Life Aboard Spacecraft
At present astronauts bank on mechanically-driven life support systems, when living aboard spacecraft. The problem is, that these systems are imperfect, because unexpected break downs can occur, moreover they’re always in use and their maintenance can turn to a difficult task. That’s why NASA is now working on the passive “Water Walls” system, based on the principle of forward osmosis. Water Walls would be incorporated into the inner walls of the spacecraft and would be made up of modules of linked and layered chemically and biologically unique cells. Each of four types of cells would perform its own function, like filtering urine and other contaminants from gray water, removing carbon dioxide and revitalizing oxygen content in the air, growing green algae for food etc. The four types of cells would also cover the crew from radiation from outside the spacecraft, and help maintain the interior temperature and humidity. Of course some mechanization would still be needed, though only to pump waste water to the modules.
Via:gizmag.com
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