Why Water Recycling is Vital in Space
Water is essential for life, but it is also a scarce and precious resource in space. That’s why NASA has developed a sophisticated system to recycle almost all of the water that astronauts use on the International Space Station (ISS), including their pee and sweat.
How the Water Recovery System Works
The system is called the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), and it consists of several subsystems that work together to collect, process, and distribute water for various purposes on the station. One of the subsystems is the Water Recovery System (WRS), which recovers water from urine, sweat, and condensation.
The WRS has two main components: the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) and the Water Processor Assembly (WPA). The UPA uses vacuum distillation to separate urine into water and brine, which still contains some water. The WPA uses filtration and catalytic oxidation to purify the water from the UPA and the moisture collected by advanced dehumidifiers that capture the crew’s breaths and sweats. The purified water is then stored in tanks and distributed for drinking, food preparation, and hygiene.
The New Device That Boosts Water Recovery Rate
NASA recently added a new device to the UPA called the Brine Processor Assembly (BPA), which extracts more water from the brine using a series of special membranes. The BPA helped NASA achieve a 98% water recovery rate on the ISS, meaning that only 2% of the water that astronauts bring onboard is lost. This is a significant improvement from the previous rate of 93-94%, and a major milestone for future missions beyond Earth.
The Benefits of Recycling Water in Space
NASA says that recycling water is not only efficient, but also safe and healthy. The processed water is cleaner than what most people drink on Earth, and meets the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Recycling water also reduces the need for resupply missions, which saves money and allows more room for scientific experiments.
The Future of Water Recycling for Exploration
NASA plans to use the ECLSS technology for its Artemis program, which aims to land humans on the Moon by 2024 and establish a sustainable presence there. The ECLSS will also be useful for future missions to Mars, where water is even more scarce and valuable.
So next time you drink a glass of water, think about how NASA turns astronaut pee and sweat into drinking water on the ISS. It may sound gross, but it’s actually a smart and innovative way to make life possible in space.
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