- Thames Water’s Mission to Support Mars Missions
- Ensuring Astronauts Have Access to Reliable Water
- Developing Water Quality Checks for Mars Missions
As the world commemorated the 30th anniversary of the first moon landing, the largest water company in the United Kingdom proclaimed its latest mission: to go where no water company has gone before: into space.
Thames Water scientists in Reading are assisting NASA in ensuring that astronauts on future Mars missions will have access to a safe and reliable water supply.
Thames Water has previously advised on water quality to support space shuttle and space station operations and is now seeking to collaborate with NASA to develop methods that would enable astronauts on Mars missions to conduct straightforward and efficient water quality checks.
Director of Business Development for Thames Water, Jim McGivern, stated today, “Thames Water has taken the initiative to go where no other water company has gone before.
‘A Mars mission would be another giant leap for humanity, made more difficult by the difficulty of supplying the astronauts with high-quality water, but given our success in running water around the globe, we are confident in our ability to rise to the occasion.’
The estimated duration of a Mars mission is two and a half years, making the recycling of water used for bathing, agricultural irrigation, and other purposes aboard the spacecraft essential.
The capacity of astronauts to conduct simple, rapid checks on the quality of supplies could be crucial to the success of a Mars mission and free up valuable exploration time.
Thames Water Research & Technology Manager Tony Rachwal said, ‘The issue is to take the newest earthly technology used in London and the Thames Valley and establish how to modify it so astronauts who are not water quality experts may utilise it efficiently.
“It must be as light as feasible, operate in zero gravity, and use as many recyclable materials as possible.
The ultimate objective is to develop a genuinely sustainable water system.
Thames Water will exhibit the most advanced terrestrial water recycling technology at the London Millennium Dome.
Nearly 900 toilets on-site will be flushed with purified water from three eco-friendly sources: precipitation collected from the 20-acre roof of the Dome, water from washhand basins, and rising groundwater from deep within the capital.
Thames Water is the largest water and sewerage utility in the United Kingdom, serving nearly 12 million customers in London and the Thames Valley and 20 million people worldwide.
