NASA TECHNOLOGY AIDS WATER PURIFICATION EFFORT IN IRAQ
NASA engineers, who are used to making a difference in the lives of
astronauts in space, recently had the chance to improve the lives of
villagers in Iraq by using NASA technology. Volunteering their own
time, engineers at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., helped install and test a water purification system
in the northern village of Kendala.
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 just 150. Those
who stayed were forced 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
non-profit organization in Lawrenceville, Ga., that has provided aid
in Iraq since 1992. Recognizing the need for cutting-edge technology
to save lives and revive the ailing community, Todd Harrison,
president of Concern For Kids' board of directors, turned to his
sister Robyn Carrasquillo. She is the engineering manager for the
Environmental Control and Life Support System, or 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 resupply missions from Earth. The system's water
processor, developed by Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems of Windsor
Locks, Conn., is undergoing final preparation at Marshall before it
is flown to space and installed on the station.
Familiar with his sister's work, Harrison knew NASA engineers at
Marshall had developed many technologies for water purification in
the 1970s and 1980s for the Space Shuttle Program and the
International Space Station. So he posed a challenge to Carrasquillo
and her team: 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.
The Concern For Kids filtration and purification system was designed
and manufactured by Water Security Corporation, a commercial company
in Reno, Nev. The company uses the same technology developed for NASA
and used on the space shuttle. The system uses iodine to purify water
from streams, rivers, wells and swamps to be used as drinking water
for the local population.
Early this year, 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
required some modification to maintain healthy iodine levels.
There were two problems with the water purification unit in Kendala.
The new water pump was improperly configured and the iodine bed had
dried out during transport. That's when Carrasquillo's team, half a
world away, came into play. The engineers at Marshall emailed advice
and instructions, helping to fix the pump configuration problem and
guiding the Iraq field team in rehydrating the resin bed.
In short order, the field team was able to deliver safe, clean
drinking water to the Kendala village for the first time in two
years. Now, Concern For Kids hopes to provide additional purification
units for other villages.
At Marshall, the ECLSS system's water processor draws ever nearer to
flight, and Carrasquillo is confident the technology will serve the
space station well. The technology 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.
"Each astronaut in space requires about three gallons of water every
day," Carrasquillo said. "That's far less than the 35 gallons or so
used each day by the average American, but still an amount that
quickly adds up, crowding our shuttles and rockets and creating
prohibitive costs. We're excited to deliver a system that will change
all that."
She's thrilled to have made a difference here on Earth, too. "To see
our system solve a down-to-Earth problem, especially in a place where
there's such a serious need ? there's no greater reward than that."
