Danish company Aquaporin Space Alliance says it has a bio-inspired solution to making fresh water on the International Space Station (ISS). Currently, a Danish European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Morgensen will test three sets of the Aquamembrane kits on his trip to the ISS. Image credit: Aquaporin Space Alliance/Danish Aerospace Companydevice makes fresh water from astronauts’ sweat and urine, although it is quite large and regularly needs maintenance.

The Alliance, a collaboration between Aquaporin A/S and Danish Aerospace Company, has come up with a biomimetic Aquamembrane kit that makes use of nanotechnology and proteins to produce fresh water.

The Aquamembrane is made of aquaporin proteins on a hollow-fiber membrane. According to the company, these membranes let through water molecules, but an electrostatic charge makes sure that any unwanted ions—including salt—stay behind. This results in a process known as forward-osmosis, in which water continuously flows from one side of the membrane to the other.

Starting in September, Danish European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Morgensen will test three sets of the Aquamembrane kits on his trip to the ISS. Plans call for Morgensen to filter three samples of waste water, each about 300 ml.

The process should yield three purified samples of 50 ml each, which will be analyzed back on Earth.

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