Touchdown Novum Labs for Hydromars!

A new company has arrived in Flemingsberg, and they´re moving at rocket speed on their journey toward space. Meet Hydromars, the startup company developing a system for water purification and nutrient recovery, with a grand goal of enabling sustainable human presence in space.

Hydromars is a Swedish space technology company that has been working since 2020 to develop a system that both purifies and reuses water – something crucial for making both longer and sustainable missions in space. They recently moved in at Novum Labs in Flemingsberg, and the team is excited about the opportunities in their new co-working space.

“It´s very hard to find an office and a lab in the same building, and let alone next to each other, but here we have a unique opportunity to have both literally just a few meters away from each other. That has been very helpful in pushing our research forward,” says Space Technology Development Engineer Abhilash Vakkada Ramachandran.

The system they´re building is both necessary and raises breathtaking thoughts. Not only because it will be able to provide astronauts with water in an efficient way, but also because it will extract the nutrients needed to support plant growth in closed systems, just like space.

“When we travel to space we still need water, but there´s a catch. Of course we can bring water, but the more you bring the more weight and cost you add on for the missions. At Hydromars we are building an entire system that can treat all feed water, reduce the weight, cost and number of steps – and still provide clean water for humans.”

Practically speaking this is made possible by collecting and recycling the fluids released by the crew – such as urine, sweat and even humidity. And what´s recovered is also designed with human self-sufficiency in mind.

“Food is also important, and very expensive to bring. Making humans self-sufficient is important wherever we go, and to be able to be so we need nutrients for plant growth. That is where we bring in our unique concept of water and nutrients together.”

In mid-June, a first test using saltwater will be conducted when prototype Hydro4M2 launches aboard a Falcon 9-rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission has the fitting name “Mission Possible”. From there it will orbit the Earth, complete its mission in 30 minutes, perform a landing in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, and finally be returned to Hydromars for results. A key milestone for the company, which next aims to test the system with a crew onboard.

“We´re currently working with our academic partners to finalize our latest initiative based on a grant we received from the Swedish National Space Agency, and we´re in contact with suppliers to build a system that we hope to launch to the International Space Station in Q1 of 2027.”

The breathtaking thoughts about humans staying for long-duration missions in space, and being able to be self-sufficient while doing so, is in other words getting closer to becoming reality. But right now, the team at Hydromars is also settling in at their new home here in Flemingsberg – and the area´s innovative, knowledge-sharing atmosphere suits them perfectly.

“It´s so good to be surrounded by people with ideas and different research initiatives. Having that positive mindset around you is both thoughtful and inspiring,” says Abhilash Vakkada Ramachandran.

At Flemingsberg Science Foundation we warmly welcome Hydromars to Flemingsberg and Novum Labs!