Performance of the Water Recovery System During Phase II of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project

The recovery of potable water from waste water produced by humans in regenerative life support systems is essential for success of long-duration space missions. The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) Phase II test was performed to validate candidate technologies to support these missions. The test was conducted in the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD) Life Support Systems Integration Facility (LSSIF) at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Discussed in this paper are the water recovery system (WRS) results of this test. A crew of 4-persons participated in the test and lived in the LSSIF chamber for a duration of 30-days from June 12 to July 12, 1996. The crew had accommodations for personal hygiene, the air was regenerated for reuse, and the waste water was processed to potable and hygiene quality for reuse by the crew during this period. The waste water consisted of shower, laundry, handwash, urine and humidity condensate. The WRS consisted of physicochemical technologies that processed the waste water to hygiene and potable quality. The water went through approximately four recycles of being used, processed and reused. Approximately 3106 kg (0832 lbs.) of water was used by the crew and 2953 kg (6496 lbs.) of water was recovered. A yield of 95% was obtained. The subsystems, the performance of the subsystems and the quality of water produced are discussed in detail. The anomalies associated with the post-processing subsystem leading up to the 30-day test and the changes made to the post-processing subsystem to obtain potable water after the first day of the test are presented.