India's cramped, diesel-fired warships are cleaning up their act, or at least their air, by installing purifiers developed by the NASA space agency to clear the fetid, below-decks environment. Privately-owned Greatwhite Technologies said Tuesday it had already installed AiroCide purifiers in India's ageing aircraft carrier INS Viraat and a frigate, and was equipping three other warships.
The company "is in talks with the Indian navy to have its entire fleet fitted with this technology," the firm said and added the system developed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) had other benefits. "The technology will help protect passengers and crew from airborne diseases like swine flu," said the Mumbai-based company. The indoor air management system was originally engineered by NASA scientists to expand the shelf life of food in space rockets.