Skip to content

Recycled water comes from urine and sweat

NASA astronaut Kayla Barron exchanging a filter in the space station’s Brine Processor Assembly.
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron exchanging a filter in the space station’s Brine Processor Assembly.
 Photo: NASA

Delivering water to the ISS isn’t cheap or easy, requiring some out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to the recycling of preexisting water. Last year, a test of the Environmental Control and Life Support System achieved a 98% water recovery rate, processing astronauts’ sweat, breath, and urine. The system includes a water recovery system and a water processor that produces drinkable water. Advanced dehumidifiers in the system capture moisture from the cabin air, and the urine processor recovers water from urine using vacuum distillation, making it possible to recycle water in space and to do so effectively. Water from poop is not recycled, but NASA is working on that possibility, which, yay?

Related Articles