A mobile wastewater treatment facility, engineered at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, has arrived at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. This system is designed to support long-duration human missions to the Moon and Mars, and graduate students will now subject the technology to rigorous testing within environments that simulate the harsh conditions of planetary surfaces.
Known as the Divergent Deployable Wastewater Treatment Facility, the system is engineered to convert crew waste into critical resources for future explorers. At the University of North Dakota, the facility is being integrated into the Integrated Lunar/Martian Analog Habitat. NASA researchers and student operators will monitor the system’s performance within this habitat-like setting to determine how it handles the operational constraints typical of extraterrestrial missions.
“NASA’s Artemis program is establishing the foundation for a permanent human presence on the Moon, where habitats must function independently of the constant resupply chains available in low Earth orbit,” explained Luke Roberson, surface water systems lead within the Mars Campaign Office at NASA Kennedy. “To overcome this, we are creating sustainable lunar surface systems capable of processing wastewater into nutrient feedstocks for biomanufacturing and plant cultivation.”
The facility is housed in an 8.5-by-24-foot trailer and features three biological reactor systems, a vertical hydroponic garden, water-polishing hardware, autonomous control software, and comprehensive environmental monitoring. This mobile laboratory configuration allows the technology to be transported between various simulation sites as it matures.
Unlike traditional terrestrial wastewater systems, this facility utilizes a “divergent” approach, keeping waste streams separate. This is critical for small crews, as waste from four to eight people is highly concentrated. By separating urine, hygiene water, laundry water, fecal matter, and food waste—each containing varying levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and salts—the system can apply the specific bioreactor best suited for each waste type.
The system employs three distinct bioreactors: the Anaerobic Phototrophic Membrane Bioreactor converts fecal and food waste into nutrient-rich water for plants; the Suspended Aerobic Membrane Bioreactor handles urine and flush water; and the Membrane Aerated Biological Reactor processes graywater from laundry and hygiene. These reactors feed a vertical hydroponic garden, where crops are grown without soil. Researchers will compare the growth of these plants against those grown with standard hydroponic nutrients.
Supported by a NASA EPSCoR grant, the facility is connected to the university’s analog habitat via a specialized bathroom interface and urine-diverting toilet. Simultaneously, a team led by Ali Alshami is developing advanced membrane-based separation technologies to enhance water recovery efficiency and system resilience. “These tests allow NASA to evaluate real-world operations, crew training requirements, and system reliability using human metabolic waste simulants,” Alshami noted.
Pablo De Leon, professor and chair of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota, stated that this campaign moves the technology from laboratory validation toward demonstration in a relevant inflatable habitat environment. The findings may eventually inform high-fidelity tests during NASA’s yearlong simulated Mars missions at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
This project is part of NASA’s broader Bioregenerative Life Support Systems initiative, which aims to reduce reliance on Earth-supplied consumables by closing life support loops. Beyond water and food, NASA is exploring how recovered nutrients could support in-space manufacturing. One such study examines using nutrient-rich water to feed microbes that produce lactic acid, which can be converted into polylactic acid—a potential binder for 3D printing with lunar or Martian regolith.
“By transitioning this facility from the lab to a real-world test in North Dakota, we are advancing a critical component of the extraterrestrial circular economy,” said J.J. Edelmann, surface systems domain lead for the Mars Campaign Office at NASA Headquarters. “While the work starts with wastewater, the ultimate goal is to enable crews to live sustainably on the Moon and eventually Mars.”