STS-126 astronauts prepare urine cocktail at Space Station

William Atkins
Wednesday, 12 November 2008 18:16

Science - Space

Astronaut Sandy Magnus states, “There's five containers of wastewater from the Russian toilet to start the regeneration system going.” [ScienceDaily.com: “Turning Urine Into Water For Space Station Recycling”]

The ScienceDaily.com article states, “The Water Recovery System, made possible in part by researchers at Michigan Technological University, can transform ordinary pee into water so pure it rivals the cleanest on Earth.”

In fact, U.S. civil and environmental engineer and researcher David Hand stated, "We received jars of sweat from NASA. Then we did experiments on the system, measured it at every step, evaluated it and made recommendations." [ScienceDaily.com]

Lead engineer for the WRS project Layne Carter stated, "Without a doubt, if it hadn't been for their [Michigan Technological University] modeling effort, we never would have been able to redesign the multifiltration beds and achieve that level of efficiency. They did a fantastic job." [ScienceDaily.com]

NASA ISS program manager Mike Suffredini stated, "Recycling will be an essential part of daily life for future astronauts, whether on board the space station or living on the moon. Delivering this hardware is an important step in achieving the station's full potential, allowing for additional crew members and more scientific research." [NASA: “New Water Reclamation System Headed for Duty on Space Station”]

An urine cocktail is not so strange as it first seems. Read The Daily Californian article "Urine Luck."

Among its interesting comments, the article states, "... some alternative health practitioners promote the drinking of one's own urine. They say that it's loaded with nutrients, hormones and enzymes that stimulate the production of antibodies and can help combat anything from the common cold to cancer."