With 98% recovery rate, astronauts drink recycled pee and sweat on ISS

Nasa recently revealed that the International Space Station (ISS) recycles 98% of the water astronauts bring with them to the station by recycling astronauts' pee and sweat into drinkable water.

The space agency said that they have attained this water recovery rate using a system that includes the recycling of astronauts' pee and sweat, according to Space.com.

Using techniques that include "advanced dehumidifiers," astronauts on board the International Space Station have recently achieved a 98% water recovery rate.

According to Engadget, this system is taking in the moisture that the crew of the station breathes in and sweats out while going about their daily activities. In addition, the crew is using "vacuum distillation" to recover astronauts' poop.

This additional component, referred to as the "Urine Processor Assembly" (UPA), generates water and a urine brine that still contains recoverable H20.

Nasa recently began testing a new system that can extract the remaining water in the brine, and as a result of that system, Nasa saw a 98% water recovery rate on the International Space Station.

About 93% to 94% of the water that astronauts brought on board had previously been recycled by the station. Although people may cringe over the news, for Christopher Brown, a member of the ISS team, it was joyous news.

Knowing that each crewmember needs a gallon of water per day for drinking, food preparation, and hygiene needs like brushing teeth, he referred to this accomplishment by the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) of the International Space Station as a huge milestone.

Brown claims that this "is a very important step forward in the evolution of life support systems."

"Let's say you launch with 100 pounds of water. You lose 2 pounds of that, and the other 98% just keeps going around and around. Keeping that running is a pretty awesome achievement," Brown added.

According to Nasa, this development will ease the crew members' concerns and allow them to concentrate on the real goal of their mission.

Moreover, ECLSS water subsystems manager Jill Williamson explained that recycling urine in microgravity is similar to terrestrial water distribution systems. Astronauts drink reclaimed, filtered, and cleaned water, which is cleaner than Earth's. 

The UPA component of the ECLSS distils urine, but the brine is a byproduct of this operation and still contains some unused water.

The ECLSS was able to achieve the 98% target thanks to a Brine Processor Assembly (BPA) that Nasa added to the UPA in order to extract the last of the wastewater.

"Before the BPA, our total water recovery was between 93 and 94% overall... We have now demonstrated that we can reach a  total water recovery of 98%, thanks to the brine processor," said Williamson.

Furthermore, Williamson emphasised the ECLSS systems' rigorous testing to ensure clean, potable water production and long-term functionality without maintenance or replacement parts.

The accomplishment also illustrates the lengths to which humans will go in order to ensure their survival. Would you, however, be brave enough to consume water that had been made from recycled urine?