Astronauts help push the frontiers of space exploration and nourishment, and now NASA has refined a water-recycling system that lets them drink their own urine.
A crucial life support system on the International Space Station can recover 98% of the wastewater — which includes sweat and urine — that’s produced by NASA astronauts, according to the federal space agency.
Recycling food, water and air is an important way of extending missions in space without needing to make supply runs back to Earth.
One of the ways the Environmental Control and Life Support System produces drinkable water is by using advanced dehumidifiers that collect moisture from the crew members’ breath and sweat.
The trick for cleansing astronauts’ urine goes through a few more steps.
The system first distills the urine, creating some water as well as a urine brine. The brine is then filtered before it’s blown with warm, dry air to evaporate the wastewater. That urine is treated again through another filter.
The urine is examined and treated repeatedly until it reaches an acceptable drinking standard. After that, the crews add a small dose of iodine to prevent any microbial growth.
“The processing is fundamentally similar to some terrestrial water distribution systems, just done in microgravity,” Jill Williamson, the ECLSS water subsystem manager, said in a release. “The crew is not drinking urine; they are drinking water that has been reclaimed, filtered and cleaned such that it is cleaner than what we drink here on Earth. We have a lot of processes in place and a lot of ground testing to provide confidence that we are producing clean, potable water.”
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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