The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has achieved an important success with the urine of astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). In the statement made by the institution, it was stated that 98 percent of the astronauts’ urine was converted back into drinking water thanks to the studies. While this may sound disgusting to you, it is critical for people in space.
As you can imagine, the resources in space are not unlimited. Every resource used counts, especially when it comes to food. Drinking water is one of those sources. After all, it is not possible to lay a water pipe from the earth to the ISS. Here’s a new study by NASA that found that up to 98 percent of astronauts’ urine was converted back into drinking water. In the past, as much as 93 percent of urine was converted into drinking water.
“Astronauts drink cleaner water than on Earth”
NASA official Jill Williamson, who made a statement on the subject, spoke as follows about the recycling of urine into drinking water: The crew does not drink urine; they are reclaimed, filtered and cleaned drinking water that is cleaner than what we drink in the world. Now let’s get to the main issue. How NASA turns urine into drinkable water
There is a system on the ISS called the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). It is this system that turns urine into drinking water. Now let’s do some biology: More than 95 percent of urine is water anyway. The remainder contains molecules such as urea, potassium, sodium and chloride. ECLSS’s built-in purification system separates the water in the urine from other molecules, allowing the water in the urine to be re-drinkable. In other words, the distillation process with ECLSS ensures that the clean water in the urine is separated and this water is drunk again…