ESA research into ways of feeding future astronauts on missions to Mars is about to find a very down-to-earth application - how to recycle every drop of water when fresh water is sparsely or not available at all.
Before considering to send a complex water-treatment system into space, it has to be thoroughly tested on Earth. This is why ESA funded development of a sewage water cleaning system for the Franco/Italian Concordia Antarctic research station, where it will be deployed as of the end of 2004.
Prior to its shipment to Antarctica, an extended field test of the unit was carried out until early June at a vocational school in Southern France - undoubtedly a tough test bed for any new technology. The system ""at work"" was filmed, as well as soundbites recorded from engineers and experts from Institut Paul Emile Victor in Brest (operating the Concordia Station) and Technomembrane, Montpellier, France (who built the system).
The programme includes an A-roll of five minutes (split audio - English voice

Water recycling
TC 10.00.40
For the last 3 months, the ëLycée de La Canourgue in the south of
France has been the testing ground for a new, closed-circuit water
recycling system inspired by space technology. The European Space
Agency has been developing these systems, aimed at the re-use of
every drop of water, for the last 10 years. This is an essential part of
ESAís activities to prepare long-duration manned space missions
around the Earth and to other planets.
TC 10.01.07
The system tested in France will be up and running again as of next
January, but this time on a long term basis in a much more exotic
location: the Scientific Station Concordia in Antarctica ., But before that
happens, itís essential to test the system in a real life situation. The
Lycee is a boarding school that specialises in the study of water and
fisheries. Itís an institution where students live in a self-contained and
controlled environment for up to 9 months of the year. Itís an ideal
model as it closely reflects the living pattern