Urine Recycler Finally Passes Astronauts’ Test

Astronauts on the Endeavor have been testing a $154 million water recycling system for a week now, and after a few days of problems with the machine shutting down intermittently, it’s finally working. The urine processor is brand-spanking-new technology that NASA hopes will help them solve the problem of water availability in space. They need to be able to convert astronauts’ urine and sweat into drinkable water in order to double the size of the space station crew to six next year.

From MSNBC:

By early Tuesday, the machine had run continuously for five hours, well past the intended mark. Additional testing was ongoing, and hopes were high that more than enough samples of processed urine would be returned to Earth aboard Endeavour for safety tests.

Space station skipper Mike Fincke, who had nursed the urine processor along, yelled “Yippee” when he learned it was finally doing its job.

“You have to remember that this is serial number zero-zero-one for a brand new technology which we’re testing out here on space station, so you can expect to have a few hiccups,” said astronaut Donald Pettit, who also worked on the contraption.

No one will drink the recycled water until it’s tested for safety back on Earth, but the Endeavor will return this weekend with six one-liter containers of recycled urine and condensation, more than originally expected.

This kind of technology isn’t just helpful up in space – it could revolutionize our ability to provide enough safe drinking water for the growing population. We’re going to need to get very clever about water conservation, and this is a great step forward.

Link [MSNBC]

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