“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
[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