• Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Meet Us
  • The WaterHub®
    • Why Reuse Water?
    • The WaterHub®
    • The WaterHub® at Emory
    • WaterHub® Awards
  • Services
    • Services
    • Project Finance
  • Technology
    • Wastewater Mining and Primary Treatment Solutions
    • Biological Treatment Reactors
    • Ecological Treatment Reactors
    • Polishing and Disinfection Systems
  • Resources
    • Brochure
    • Case Studies
    • Publications
    • FAQ
  • Newsletter
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • Upcoming Events
Sustainable Water

Extending The Life Cycle Of Water

FacebookTwitter Instagram LinkedIn Youtube

Drinking Recycled Urine – a Necessity in Space

“It tastes like bottled water,” is not the description you would expect from NASA’s Layne Carter about American astronauts drinking recycled urine on the International Space Station. Reported in an article on Guardian News and Media, Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield posted a video claiming 93% of water on the International Space Station is reclaimed with nearly 6,000 extra liters recycled each year. [1]

But what about the Russians – do they also participate in this form of water reuse?Drinking recycled urine is a unique and effective strategy only utilized by US Astronauts, producing more reclaimed water than the Russians. Along with their own, the Americans even collect the Russians’ urine! [1]

Even though drinking recycled urine is not a Russian strategy, both the Americans and Russians collect condensate from the air for water reuse while aboard the International Space Station. US Astronauts go that extra step to ensure every ounce of water is reclaimed – even urine. [1]

With the expected negative psychological outlook of drinking reclaimed urine, Chris Hadfield replied in a video according to Guardian News and Media, “Before you cringe at the thought of drinking your leftover wash water and your leftover urine, keep in mind that the water that we end up with is purer than most of the water that you drink at home.” Also, he stated, “That’s a critical step towards living for long periods off of planet Earth.”[1]

To read the full abstract Status of the Regenerative ECLSS Water Recovery System, please visit:
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20090033097.pdf

 

Sources

  • US astronauts drink recycled urine aboard space station but Russians refuse

 

[1] Brait, Ellen. US astronauts drink recycled urine aboard space station but Russians refuse. Guardian News and Media. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/26/us-astronauts-recycled-urine-international-space-station

 

Comments

comments

in Reuse in the News

Related posts

Tucson: A Model for Water Reclamation

Comments: 0

Clean 13 Report Awards the WaterHub at Emory University

Comments: 0

National Water Reuse Action Plan

Comments: 0

Chandler—A Model in Reclamation Planning

Comments: 0

Categories

  • Business & Economics (87)
  • Education (3)
  • Environment (57)
  • Feature Story (15)
  • Latest at Sustainable Water (29)
  • Policy & Politics (72)
  • Reuse in the News (38)
  • Technology (25)

Sign up for Sustainable Water Newsletter

* = required field

© Sustainable Water 2018 | About | WaterHub | Services | Technology | Contact