What has NASA done for you lately? While the name of the U.S. space agency may evoke images of rockets soaring out of the atmosphere on pillars of flame (see Fig. 1), many technologies developed for the space program have been adapted for everyday use here on Earth. NASA calls these commercialized technologies "spinoffs," and there are thousands of them affecting our lives today, improving everything from medicine to computer technology . The classic example that comes to mind for most people is the orange-flavored breakfast drink Tang, although it is not a true spinoff. Tang was actually developed before human spaceflight began, but it did gain popularity after NASA used it on the Gemini missions [1]. For people in disaster areas or developing nations, though, NASA spinoffs can mean improved access to a far more essential drink: pure water. Technology developed by NASA to provide clean water to astronauts on long-duration space missions is being adapted and implemented for better water purification on Earth.

Getting enough water is one of the greatest challenges in human spaceflight. Human beings cannot survive without water, but water is heavy and it occupies a large storage volume. In the early days of human spaceflight, when missions lasted only a few hours or at most several days, it was possible to launch space travelers from Earth with all of the water they needed. However, as mission plans lengthened, bringing water from Earth to sustain human life for extended periods became less feasible. Instead, researchers began to develop water purification technology to recycle the limited water supply that could be provided.

While astronauts face challenges in getting enough water to survive in space, many more people have the same problem in developing nations down here on Earth. According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people, or 17% of the global population, lacked access to a safe water source in 2002. Interestingly, designers of water purification systems for space travel face many of the same challenges as designers of systems for use in developing nations. The key features of equipment suitable for both settings are durability, simple design, and low maintenance requirements. Obtaining specialized parts or personnel experienced in water system repair can be equally difficult in space and in developing nations. Given these similarities, water purification technology designed for NASA can be very useful to developing nations if the right adaptations are made to it [12].