Nigel Packham - Water Recycling in Space

Nigel Packham was born in London, England, on December 21, 1960. He completed a BS in Chemistry at City of London Polytechnic in 1983, and received a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 1990. Packham migrated to the United States because he wanted to be an astronaut. He has come very close.

Described as wiry and internally focused, Packham speaks with a slight British accent. He reads electrochemistry textbooks in his spare time. Very much dedicated to his work and a workaholic schedule, he is a scientist at NASA, working in the Life Support Systems Branch of the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

He was responsible for design, development, testing and analysis of the water recovery system which will be used on the International Space Station. This is an important job. When the big budgets for space exploration evaporated in the 1980s, the new paradigm became cost effective. Learning how to recycle water from washing, urination, and sweating to be used again for washing, drinking, and watering plants meant that less supplies would be needed, which translates to less weight, fewer systems, and lower costs. Packham's design for water recovery does not rely on chemical filtration, but rather on a series of  chambers called the Biological Water Processor. The BWP consists of two subsystems that strain out substances like urea, soap, chloride, sodium, potassium, sulfate, and phosphate. Microbes are used to convert ammonium into nitrite and nitrate compounds. The daily output of the BWP is thirty gallons, which is considered sufficient for drinking, cooking, laundry, and washing for four people. According to members of the research team, the recycled water is more pure and tastes better that what comes from the tap in your kitchen.

After spending ninety-one days in the Can, as the crew members call the test life support station, Packham said, "It's almost like the chamber is a living, breathing entity. It's providing oxygen for us and it's providing drinking water, and when you turn the systems off, it's like it stops breathing for you."

Packham displays an obvious enjoyment for the work he does, and he has a plan for the future. The Life Support System he helped design will be home for astronauts when they journey to Mars. Dr. Packham would like to be there.

Visit http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/expltx/eft/nasa/eft_agenda.htm to see and hear a video of Dr. Packham explaining how the space station will recycle water.

Packham is married and has two stepchildren.

Sources

http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/index.htm

http://aerospacescholars.org/mentors/bios/npackham.htm

http://advlifesupport.jsc.nasa.gov/ehti3/packhamn.html

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/media/rel/2000/J00-8.html

http://www.icn.state.ia.us/news/fol/mayjun98/Story_2.htm

http://ltp.ivv.nasa.gov/space/ask/people/Psychological_training_for_astronauts_.txt

http://advlifesupport.jsc.nasa.gov/

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.06/mars.html

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