Water: A Critical Material Enabling Space Exploration

Water is one of the most critical materials in human spaceflight. The availability of water defines the duration of a space mission; the volume of water required for a longduration space mission becomes too large, heavy, and expensive for launch vehicles to carry. Since the mission duration is limited by the amount of water a space vehicle can carry, the capability to recycle water enables space exploration. In addition, water management in microgravity impacts spaceflight in other respects, such as the recent emergency termination of a spacewalk caused by free water in an astronaut's spacesuit helmet. A variety of separation technologies are used onboard spacecraft to ensure that water is always available for use, and meets the stringent water quality required for human space exploration. These separation technologies are often adapted for use in a microgravity environment, where water behaves in unique ways. The use of distillation, membrane processes, ion exchange and granular activated carbon will be reviewed. Examples of microgravity effects on operations will also be presented. A roadmap for future technologies, needed to supply water resources for the exploration of Mars, will also be reviewed

Water Recovery Systems Technology Development Overview and Capabilities

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Continuous digital hypothermia in the prevention and treatment of acute equine laminitis

PICO question&#x0D; Does continuous digital hypothermia improve clinical outcome in equids with acute laminitis compared to supportive treatment alone?&#x0D;  &#x0D; Clinical bottom line&#x0D; Category of research question&#x0D; Treatment&#x0D; The number and type of study designs reviewed&#x0D; Six experimental randomised controlled trials and one multicentre retrospective case series were reviewed&#x0D; Strength of evidence&#x0D; Moderate&#x0D; Outcomes reported&#x0D; The outcomes reported were reduced severity of histopathological lamellar lesions in limbs treated with continuous digital hypothermia (CDH; initiated prior to or soon after the onset of experimentally induced acute laminitis) compared to limbs remaining at an ambient temperature in all five experimental studies where histology was performed. A significant reduction was observed in the prevalence or severity of clinical signs of laminitis in limbs treated with CDH compared to limbs remaining at an ambient temperature. In a single retrospective case series, significantly reduced prevalence of clinical laminitis was reported amongst animals receiving CDH compared to those that did not in a referral hospital population of animals treated for colitis&#x0D; Conclusion&#x0D; There is moderate evidence to support that CDH when used prior to or in the early stages of clinical signs, may reduce the severity and progression of lamellar lesions in acute laminitis and no evidence demonstrating that it improves clinical outcome compared to supportive treatment alone. Further research into the clinical outcome of equids treated for acute laminitis using CDH is warranted&#x0D;  &#x0D; How to apply this evidence in practice&#x0D; The application of evidence into practice should take into account multiple factors, not limited to: individual clinical expertise, patient’s circumstances and owners’ values, country, location or clinic where you work, the individual case in front of you, the availability of therapies and resources.&#x0D; Knowledge Summaries are a resource to help reinforce or inform decision making. They do not override the responsibility or judgement of the practitioner to do what is best for the animal in their care.&#x0D;  &#x0D; </jats:p

Preliminary Feasibility Testing of the BRIC Brine Water Recovery Concept

The Brine Residual In-Containment (BRIC) concept is being developed as a new technology to recover water from spacecraft wastewater brines. Such capability is considered critical to closing the water loop and achieving a sustained human presence in space. The intention of the BRIC concept is to increase the robustness and efficiency of the dewatering process by performing drying inside the container used for the final disposal of the residual brine solid. Recent efforts in the development of BRIC have focused on preliminary feasibility testing using a laboratory- assembled pre-prototype unit. Observations of the drying behavior of actual brine solutions processed under BRIC-like conditions has been of particular interest. To date, experiments conducted with three types of analogue spacecraft wastewater brines have confirmed the basic premise behind the proposed application of in-place drying. Specifically, the dried residual mass from these solutions have tended to exhibit characteristics of adhesion and flow that are expected to continue to challenge process stream management designs typically used in spacecraft systems. Yet, these same characteristics may favor the development of capillary- and surface-tension-based approaches currently envisioned as part of an ultimate microgravity-compatible BRIC design. In addition, preliminary feasibility testing of the BRIC pre-prototype confirmed that high rates of water recovery, up to 98% of the available brine water, may be possible while still removing the majority of the brine contaminants from the influent brine stream. These and other early observations from testing are reported

From Earth to Space: Application of Biological Treatment for the Removal of Ammonia from Water

Managing ammonia is often a challenge in both drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities. Ammonia is unregulated in drinking water, but its presence may result in numerous water quality issues in the distribution system such as loss of residual disinfectant, nitrification, and corrosion. Ammonia concentrations need to be managed in wastewater effluent to sustain the health of receiving water bodies. Biological treatment involves the microbiological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate through a twostep process. While nitrification is common in the environment, and nitrifying bacteria can grow rapidly on filtration media, appropriate conditions, such as the presence of dissolved oxygen and required nutrients, need to be established. This presentation will highlight results from two ongoing research programs - one at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and the other at a drinking water facility in California. Both programs are designed to demonstrate nitrification through biological treatment. The objective of NASA's research is to be able to recycle wastewater to potable water for spaceflight missions. To this end, a biological water processor (BWP) has been integrated with a forward osmosis secondary treatment system (FOST). Bacteria mineralize organic carbon to carbon dioxide as well as ammonianitrogen present in the wastewater to nitrogen gas, through a combination of nitrification and denitrification. The effluent from the BWP system is low in organic contaminants, but high in total dissolved solids. The FOST system, integrated downstream of the BWP, removes dissolved solids through a combination of concentrationdriven forward osmosis and pressure driven reverse osmosis. The integrated system testing planned for this year is expected to produce water that requires only a polishing step to meet potable water requirements for spaceflight. The pilot study in California is being conducted on Golden State Water Company's Yukon wells that have hydrogen sulfide odor, color, total organic carbon, bromide, iron and manganese in addition to ammonia. A treatment evaluation, conducted in 2011, recommended the testing of biological oxidation filtration for the removal of ammonia and production of biologically stable water. An 8month pilot testing program was conducted to develop and optimize key design and operational variables. Steadystate operational data was collected to demonstrate longterm performance and inform California Department of Public Health permitting of the fullscale process. As ammonia continues to present challenges to water and wastewater systems, innovative strategies such as biological treatment can be applied to successfully manage it. This presentation will discuss application of cuttingage research being conducted by NASA that will bridge existing information gaps, and benefit municipal utilities