NASA is Testing the Divergent Deployable Wastewater Treatment Facility to Treat Wastewater on the Moon
The Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano will be aboard the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit (LEO), which will test the two lunar landers Starship HLS and Blue Moon MK2, respectively from SpaceX and Blue Origin, both still in prototype phase. However, NASA wants to look well beyond, establishing a permanent lunar base to conduct scientific research and create a sustainable space economy through the utilization of in situ resources. To achieve this, several steps must be completed, and it will not be a simple endeavor.
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers have built the Divergent Deployable Wastewater Treatment Facility (DDWTF), or in other words, a transportable system for wastewater treatment that could also be used on the Moon or Mars (the ultimate goal of the Artemis program). The system has now been taken to the University of North Dakota, where students will be able to test its operation in view of possible future use. This effort is part of the Bioregenerative Life Support Systems for the development of integrated systems for future space outposts.
Luke Roberson (from the Kennedy Space Center) stated, "NASA's Artemis program is laying the groundwork for a continuous human presence on the Moon, where habitats will need to operate away from the constant supply chain that supports astronauts in microgravity (i.e., on the ISS). To tackle this challenge, we are developing the future of sustainable systems for the lunar surface, capable of transforming wastewater into nutrients for plants and biomanufacturing."
The Divergent Deployable Wastewater Treatment Facility for wastewater treatment will be integrated with the habitat that simulates lunar and Martian environments, allowing for a simulation of what future astronauts will face. In addition to simple functionality, the operational limits and potential issues will also be investigated.
The wastewater treatment system measures 2.59 x 7.32 meters and includes several integrated subsystems. Specifically, it features three biological reactors, a vertical garden, hardware to purify water, environmental monitoring, autonomous control software, and safety systems. NASA has also specified that the DDWTF separates different waste types such as urine, water used for services, wastewater, feces, and food waste for separate treatment to select the appropriate reactor for processing.
In particular, the suspended membrane aerobic bioreactor is designed for urine and wastewater. There is also the aerated membrane bioreactor, which treats gray water resulting from hygiene and cleaning discharges. The phototrophic anaerobic membrane bioreactor is designed for feces and food waste, converting them into nutrient-rich wastewater aimed at growing plants (which could be used for food) through hydroponic cultivation without soil. Once the first plants have grown, tests will be conducted to determine if the performance of this cultivation system is similar to more traditional methods.