Refine Your Search

Search Results

Viewing 1 of 1
Technical Paper

Archiving Trace Organic Contaminants in Spacecraft Water

2003-07-07
2003-01-2408
One of the long-standing concerns in space exploration is the presence of trace organic contaminants in recycled spacecraft water supplies. At present, water samples on the International Space Station (ISS) are collected at regular intervals, stored in Teflon™-lined containers, and returned to Earth for characterization. This approach, while effective in defining water quality, has several notable problems. First, this method of archiving removes a significant volume of the ISS water supply. Second, the archived water consumes valuable cargo space in returning Shuttle and Soyuz vehicles. Third, the organic contaminants present in the collected samples may degrade upon extended storage. The latter problem clearly compromises sample integrity. Upon return to Earth, sample degradation is minimized by refrigeration. Due to present resource constraints, however, refrigeration is not a viable option in space.
X