NASA is recycling 98 percent of astronaut pee and sweat on the ISS into drinkable water
NASA is recycling 98 percent of astronaut pee and sweat on the ISS into drinkable water
This week, NASA revealed that the International Space Station’s Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is recycling 98 percent of all water astronauts bring aboard the station..
This week, NASA revealed that the International Space Station’s Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is recycling 98 percent of all water astronauts bring aboard the station..
Both cool and disgusting.
Most cities recycle water too. Maybe not 98 percent but a large percentage of water.
Hmm... I had one question from the get go. But it was not answered by the article. Namely what happens the remaining 2%? They say there's a chance to recovery it in the future but not what they do with it currently.
Also, nice stillsuit reference.
You already have good answers here, but it's also important to remember that the ISS isn't a perfect seal.
Small amounts of gasses are lost all the time, which is simply the nature of trying to keep small molecules in one place.
I mean, the water we drink now has been an animal or a human's pee.
I don’t know man
It doesn’t say how the 2% loss occurs. I’m curious how water actually leaves the system since the ISS is obviously airtight.
Nice that’s a huge milestone, that way you don’t have to lug thousands of kilos of water to mars bc you waste it all, you can just keep reusing the same amount over and over
Collecting sweat? I'm imagining astronauts up there wringing out wash cloths. "Sniff. Sniff. Dammit, Buzz would you stop mopping up your crack. We all don't wanna be drinking Eau de Taint with dinner later." Oh, they use a dehumidifier, yah that makes more sense.
What about poop?
Recycling poop is only viable if people stop holding it for 3 days or more.
turn it into potatoes?
Here's a general idea of what happens with feces on the ISS:
Waste Collection: The toilet on the ISS uses airflow to direct waste into the right place, given that there's no gravity to help. When astronauts need to poop, they use a specially designed toilet with straps to hold them in place. The toilet includes a smaller hole and fan system that uses suction to pull the waste away from the body.
Waste Storage: Once the waste is collected, it's stored in a separate sealed container. The toilet system compacts and stores solid waste. This waste is exposed to vacuum to kill bacteria and reduce odor.
Disposal: When the container is full, it is removed and stored in a special section of a cargo ship, like a SpaceX Dragon or a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, that is set to leave the ISS and reenter Earth's atmosphere. Upon reentry, the ship and its contents (including the waste) burn up, essentially incinerating the waste.
This answer was given by ChatGPT. I do not know how true it is, but it clearly sounds like it. I hear about freeze-dry process before.
So 2% is lost how often? Every day? Every week? Every month? I don't understand what 98% reclaimed means.
To quote the article that this post links to:
“Let’s say you collect 100 pounds of water on the station. You lose two pounds of that and the other 98 percent just keeps going around and around. Keeping that running is a pretty awesome achievement.”
This means that for any sample of liquid waste, 98% of that quantity will be converted back into water, while the remaining 2% will be discarded.
And everyone laughed at Kevin Costner in Waterworld.
I was more thinking Dune, but that also works.
I immediately thought of this. I feel old now.
They could probably make a tidy profit selling it to internet weirdos instead.
Imagine you are chilling on the sofa watching netflix with your girl and some random girl knocks at your door and shouts: "WOW! Your filtered piss tastes so GREAT!"
...
Thats an odd way to give someone a blowjob.
"drinking your own recycled piss? Sign me up", said no aspiring astro boy
Maybe some big fans of Dune who want to know what stillsuit water tastes like.
The turds are stored in the legs! What a cool suit!
The other 2% they save for special occasions
Here on earth we recycle even more of it. I just had a wonderful lunch with some sparkling
recycled dinosaur pisswater.Refreshing.
Please, tell me this wine isn't made from your pee, because its delicious...
#theMarinerValleywayoflife