transport anything to theInternational Space Stationis expensive : direct one congius ofwater , for example , be $ 83,000 [ PDF ] . Now consider that each of four astronauts on the ISS call for 12 congius of water per sidereal day for boozing and other use . NASA ’s bill would go into the stratosphere .
Tanks of H20 ca n’t be constantly ship to the International Space Station , so the place has a complex water system that squeezes every last bead of useable , drinkableliquidout of the environment . That leave behind astronauts drinking a filtered mixture that includes recycled shower water , onetime cosmonaut stew , andpee . The place also hold back about 530 gallons of water in military reserve in instance of an pinch .
The NASA water supply systems on the ISS collect moisture from breath and sweat , weewee from multitude and research animals , and runoff from sinks and showers to keep the post hydrated . “ It tastes like bottled piss , as long as you may psychologically get past the percentage point that it ’s reprocess weewee and condensate that derive out of the strain , ” Layne Carter , who manages the ISS water organization from the Marshall Flight Center in Alabama , toldBloomberg Businessweek .
However , not all the ISS cosmonaut drink recycledurine . The ISS is split into two section , one run by Russia , and one by the United States , and they have two different water systems . The U.S. system of rules collects condensate , runoff , and weewee to create about 3.6 gallons of drinkable water system per daytime . However , the Russian astronauts drink weewee action from only shower overspill and condensation , skipping the urine ( farm slightly less than that 3.6 gal ) . Occasionally , the NASA cosmonaut will go over to the Russian side of the ISS and seize the Russian supplying of urine to process it themselves . No need to knock off potential water supplying !
In gain , the two sides of the ISS disinfect their water two different way . Since 1981 , NASA has been using iodine to disinfect water , a process that requires the H2O to be filtered since too much iodine cancause thyroid issues . Russia has been using silver to disinfect its water since the launch of the Mir station by the Soviet Union in 1986 .
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A version of this story was published in 2015 ; it has been updated for 2024 .
