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Technology sent by NASA to the University of North Dakota transforms human waste, urine, used water, and food scraps into resources for space missions by integrating recycling, hydroponic cultivation, and life support systems in lunar and Martian habitats.
NASA has begun testing a mobile waste treatment unit capable of transforming human waste, urine, hygiene used water, and food scraps into resources for long-duration missions on the Moon and Mars.
Developed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the technology was sent to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, where it will be connected to an analogous lunar and Martian habitat used in space mission simulations.
Called the Divergent Deployable Wastewater Treatment Facility, or DDWTF, the system was created to reduce the dependence on water, fertilizers, and other supplies sent from Earth during long-duration space operations.
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According to NASA, the proposal is to reuse materials produced by the crew itself throughout the mission, forming a more closed life support cycle in environments outside Earth.
In more distant missions, the replenishment of resources sent from the planet becomes more limited, which increases the need for systems capable of recovering water, nutrients, and materials that would normally be discarded.
In this model, water, nutrients, and waste become part of the survival operation instead of being treated only as items of consumption or disposal within the habitat.
How NASA’s system works
The unit was installed in a trailer measuring 8.5 by 24 feet and brings together three bioreactor systems, a vertical garden, water polishing equipment, environmental sensors, autonomous control software, and safety devices.
Prepared to function as a transportable laboratory, the set can be used in different simulation environments as the technology advances in tests conducted by NASA and the University of North Dakota.
Compared to conventional sanitation systems, the DDWTF keeps waste separated from the origin, allowing specific treatments to be applied according to the composition of each material.
Feces, urine, hygiene water, laundry water, and food scraps follow their own flows within the unit, with processes adjusted to the chemical and biological characteristics of each type of waste.
This separation is adopted because small crews can generate concentrated waste, with different levels of salts, solids, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other compounds present in the collected material.
By treating each stream separately, NASA aims to enhance resource recovery and reduce losses during waste processing in space habitats.
One of the bioreactors was designed to process fecal waste and food scraps, converting this material into a nutrient-rich solution intended for the hydroponic cultivation of plants.
Other components of the system treat urine and wastewater, focusing on water recovery for safe reuse within the life support structure.
Hydroponic cultivation in lunar and Martian habitat
At the University of North Dakota, graduate students and NASA researchers will evaluate the unit’s performance after its integration into the Integrated Lunar/Martian Analog Habitat, an environment used to simulate operational challenges on another celestial body.
With this connection, it will be possible to observe the system’s operation in an experimental routine closer to the conditions planned for long-duration lunar and Martian missions.
The tests include comparing plants fed by nutrients generated from processed waste with plants cultivated by traditional hydroponic methods.
This stage should indicate whether the material recovered by the DDWTF can be used to support food production in closed space habitats.
Besides technical efficiency, researchers will analyze reliability, maintenance needs, crew training required, and equipment behavior in simulated conditions.
These factors are considered by NASA in evaluating technologies intended for missions where the crew will have less access to repairs, parts, and immediate external support.
The analysis should also compare simulated waste with human metabolic waste generated in an analogous environment to verify performance differences during processing.
This comparison is necessary because artificial materials may not reproduce all aspects of the waste produced by crews, especially when there are variations in diet, water consumption, and operational routine.
Recycling of water and nutrients in space
The DDWTF is part of NASA’s studies in bioregenerative life support systems, an area focused on combining water recycling, nutrient recovery, food production, and reducing disposal volume.
The agency states that these systems aim to use biological and technological processes to keep habitats operational for longer periods, with less need for supplies sent from Earth.
At the International Space Station, NASA already uses the orbital laboratory as a platform to test recycling and resource recovery technologies in a microgravity environment.
In 2023, the agency reported that the station’s environmental control and life support system achieved the goal of recovering about 98% of available water, including liquids from urine, sweat, and the moisture from astronauts’ breath.
The result was associated with the performance of the Brine Processor Assembly, equipment developed to extract residual water from the brine left by urine processing.
Before the installation of this component, the total water recovery on the station ranged between 93% and 94%, according to information released by NASA.
After recovery, the water goes through stages of filtration, treatment, and purity verification before being released for use by the crew.
This process is part of the life support infrastructure used to sustain astronauts on orbital missions and serves as a reference for technologies planned for more distant operations.
Why the Moon Became a Testing Ground
NASA states that the Artemis program aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, where habitats will need to operate with a supply chain different from that used in low orbit.
In this scenario, systems capable of transforming waste into inputs are part of the technical evaluation of solutions to reduce mass, disposal volume, and logistical dependency on prolonged missions.
Luke Roberson, leader of surface water systems at the Mars Campaign Office of the Kennedy Space Center, stated that the agency is developing technologies to process wastewater into nutrients for plants and biomanufacturing.
The statement was released by NASA in the announcement about sending the unit to the University of North Dakota, where the equipment will be integrated into the analogous habitat.
Still in the testing phase, the technology will be evaluated to see how it can operate in lunar and Martian habitats, focusing on water and nutrient recovery within closed systems.
In long-duration missions, the efficiency of these cycles can influence the volume of supplies needed, the operation of habitats, and the planning of scientific activities outside Earth.
The unit sent to the University of North Dakota does not represent a final solution for all human waste in space but a validation step for technologies aimed at resource reuse.
By combining sewage treatment, water recovery, and plant cultivation in the same system, NASA tests a way to transform waste into part of the life support infrastructure outside Earth.
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