15 June 2006
NASA Technology Aids Water Purification Effort in Iraq
System used on International Space Station helps villagers on Earth
Washington - NASA engineers, who are accustomed to making a difference in the lives of astronauts in space, recently had a chance help villagers in Iraq using NASA technology.
Engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama volunteered their time to help install and test a water purification system in the northern Iraqi village of Kendala, NASA announced June 14.
Two years ago, the pump for the village's deep-water well failed, leaving residents without access to clean water. The population quickly dwindled from more than 1,000 residents to 150. Those who stayed had to haul water from nearby creeks muddied by livestock. They also dug crude, shallow wells and strained the water through fabric to remove dirt and debris.
The village's plight drew the attention of Concern For Kids, a nonprofit organization based in the U.S. state of Georgia, which has provided aid to Iraq since 1992. Organization officials contacted Robyn Carrasquillo, engineering manager for the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) project at Marshall.
The ECLSS system is designed to recycle air and water on the International Space Station, dramatically reducing the need for frequent, costly supply missions from Earth. The system's water processor is undergoing final preparation at Marshall before it is flown to space and installed on the station.
Carrasquillo and her team agreed to help via e-mail to install and test a new ground-based water purification system to improve the quality of life for Iraqis struggling to rebuild their village and country.
A private Nevada company, Water Security Corporation, designed and manufactured the Concern For Kids filtration and purification system. The company uses the technology developed for NASA and employed on the space shuttle. The system uses iodine to purify water from streams, rivers, wells and swamps to turn it into drinking water for the local population.
Early in 2006, volunteers installed a 2,000-liter water tank in the village and, with the help of U.S. Army Civil Affairs personnel, began trucking in fresh water. But the water needed to be cleaned and modified to maintain healthy iodine levels.
Two problems developed with the water purification unit in Kendala - the new water pump was not put together properly and the iodine bed had dried out during transport. Carrasquillo's team, half a world away, helped with this problem. The engineers at Marshall e-mailed advice and instructions, helping fix the pump and guiding the Iraq field team in re-wetting the iodine bed.
Soon the field team was able to deliver safe, clean drinking water to the Kendala village for the first time in two years. Concern For Kids hopes to provide purification units for other villages.
At Marshall, the ECLSS is a major leap forward in serving the needs of future space explorers on the space station, on the moon or during deep-space missions to the outer reaches of the solar system, but Carrasquillo is thrilled to have made a difference here on Earth, too.
"To see our system solve a down-to-Earth problem," she said, "especially in a place where there's such a serious need … there's no greater reward than that."
Additional information about NASA’s environment controls and life support system is available at the NASA Web site, as is the full text of the press release.
