International Space Station crew 'thrilled' to receive new urine recycling equipment

If we've learned anything from The Ice Pirates, we've learned that in space -- and increasingly on our planet as well -- water is the most valuable substance. Among the host of upgrades that the International Space Station is set to receive over the next couple weeks is a water purification system that will recycle urine for use as drinking water. Similar technology has been used in the Salyut and Mir space stations to process water collected from the cabin's atmosphere (the result of perspiration, aspiration and A/C condensation) but until now claiming back as much as 92% of water consumed by astronauts was just a wonderful dream. The project is part of a 15-day shuttle mission aimed at increasing the number of astronauts the craft can hold from three to six.

[Greg Mcp @ Nov 13th 2008 9:26PM]

Nice Japanese toilet there.
Though I know it's clean, the idea of washing my hands with toilet water still bothers me.

[KAIKAI @ Nov 13th 2008 9:44PM]

but the surprising fact is
that
in 80% of households
the toilet water (after flushing)
is cleaner than the water from the faucet

[James @ Nov 13th 2008 9:48PM]

What's even more crazy is that 92.33% repeating of course of stats are made up on the spot

[CraigJ @ Nov 13th 2008 10:24PM]

That's not true. The water in your toilet comes from the same source as the water in your faucet and generally sits in a tank that grows mold since it is not air-tight.

[phanbouy @ Nov 13th 2008 10:38PM]

ORLY kaikai?

you're saying that faucet water is concentrated in coliform bacteria, biological "solids", nitrogen, urea, and ammonia? Fascinating.

[Valicore @ Nov 13th 2008 11:13PM]

KAIKAI, I don't know where you're living, but you're either an alien or have some dramatically disturbed plumbing.

[Reader @ Nov 14th 2008 1:59AM]

Maybe instead of reusing faucet waste water to flush, they got it wrong and used the toilet waste water for the faucet. Should hire a professional next time.

[happy_penguin @ Nov 14th 2008 11:14AM]

I think kaikai is pissed. As in drunk.

[tom@duluth homes @ Nov 15th 2008 8:13AM]

I want to see what the space stations toilets look like.

[)ROFL( @ Nov 13th 2008 9:27PM]

It's for shit!

[bill cant fart @ Nov 13th 2008 10:59PM]

No, it's for pee.

[1234321 @ Nov 14th 2008 12:55AM]

I'm pretty sure its for both

anyway I was trying to think of a Soviet Russia joke, but for once they came ahead in the field of space plumbing

[Ciesson @ Nov 14th 2008 8:59AM]

LOL!

Space plumbing is the only thing that Soviet Russia can get right...

[Smart People Play Tuba @ Nov 14th 2008 9:44AM]

If drinking recycled pee is good for the Fremen, it's good enough for astronauts.

[collegekid13 @ Nov 13th 2008 9:34PM]

i know its clean but seriously that would take a major mindset change

[Samboini @ Nov 14th 2008 12:44PM]

If you can conquer your fear of laying a brick on someone's chest, this is small change.

[iEye @ Nov 13th 2008 9:35PM]

another reason why excessive money spent on space travel is a waste.

If we cannot find a better way to travel in space then we are not ready for long journeys... give up, find another way.

[noyp @ Nov 13th 2008 9:38PM]

What do you want us to do? Fly?

[nerdtalker @ Nov 13th 2008 9:45PM]

Find another way to travel through the vast void of space? As in, _another_?

I'm so glad we have people as smart as you working on these problems and offering such insightful commentary about it all day long. Get to work on it iHawking.

Pfft.

[Fernando @ Nov 13th 2008 10:10PM]

Wow, you fail as a troll even for non apple related posts.

[iEye @ Nov 13th 2008 10:14PM]

Obviously current methods of propulsion are antiquated and inferior to the vastness of space. Space travel should be private now. Tax money should not be spent on this.

Tax money should be spent on building a defense network for the non-terrorist countries but not for sending manned missions on lengthy journeys...

[lowdef @ Nov 13th 2008 10:15PM]

yeah teleportation is a much more feasible solution.

[Jason @ Nov 13th 2008 10:18PM]

God you're annoying

[lorddshadow2 @ Nov 13th 2008 10:34PM]

"The Americans spent millions of dollars developing a pen that would function is space. The Russians just used a pencil."

it's not that we shouldn't spend money on the space program, it's just that we should find cheaper, alternative ways to do things just as good. (hard to imagine, i know.)

[Moofree @ Nov 13th 2008 10:34PM]

I prefer the happy-thoughts propulsion technology.

[Russell @ Nov 13th 2008 11:11PM]

Thing is, the pencil wasn't "just as good", and they all use the pens now. Pencils are dangerous in a weightless environment because bits of the lead snap off and get into the equipment.

[Matthew C @ Nov 14th 2008 1:30AM]

No offense, but you might just want to stop talking ... period.

[Metkis @ Nov 14th 2008 3:20AM]

Please, the whole pen thing is a myth. Look it up.

[Holger @ Nov 14th 2008 3:46AM]

Actually I think the Infinite Improbability Drive is the way to go... :P

---

anyway good to hear that it'll be cheaper to "live" in space...

[2Kblaze @ Nov 14th 2008 6:49AM]

Ludicrous speed via the Ludicrous Drive

[Samboini @ Nov 14th 2008 2:17PM]

What about propulsion via idiotic twatish fanboy comments.

[xor24 @ Nov 13th 2008 9:38PM]

I know it's clean but i don't want to wash my hands, drink, etc cleaned urine.

[Brian @ Nov 14th 2008 3:02PM]

yeah, that soda you just drank?

millions of years ago, it was probably dinosaur piss.

liquid is always recycled, at one point in time any liquid was probably a bodily fluid.

[dubya @ Nov 13th 2008 10:55PM]

Where do you think water comes from? It's all been sitting around or passing through various organisms for billions of years now. Some of the air you breath was part of a fart at some point as well. Good luck protecting your precious bodily fluids!

[Valicore @ Nov 13th 2008 11:15PM]

You probably already do. They just don't tell you that.

[maryland157 @ Nov 14th 2008 3:35PM]

Brian, I think xor24 just doesn't like his piss water fresh, xor24 prefers his or her piss water at least 2,000 years old.

[Demo @ Nov 13th 2008 9:39PM]

They did this in Waterworld, how bad can it be?

[John @ Nov 13th 2008 10:24PM]

yeah, but kevin costner can also survive for years just drinking his own unpurified urine.

[Jeremy @ Nov 14th 2008 12:55AM]

almost as bad as the movie.

[Ghen @ Nov 14th 2008 8:16AM]

Waterworld was great, it just didn't make enough money to cover operating costs due to a typhoon or two destroying the set.

[zounds Padang @ Nov 13th 2008 9:39PM]

"8% lost? That's barely measurable!"
-Paul Atreides

"That's the point."
-Dr. Kynes

[Stephen @ Nov 13th 2008 11:29PM]

Thank you! About time someone inserted the appropriate Dune joke. It's only a matter of time when astronauts on the space station start harvesting water from the victims who accidentally wonder in.

[L8on @ Nov 13th 2008 9:50PM]

Yeah I couldn't get my mind over drinking that water either. How clean is it after the purification process?

[Patrick @ Nov 13th 2008 10:24PM]

pretty clean.
if your about to die you'd take it ;P

[Blaze @ Nov 13th 2008 9:50PM]

My childhood dream of becoming an astronaut is complete gone after reading this...

[bill cant fart @ Nov 13th 2008 9:54PM]

Ha ha! They're drinking there own pee!

[Richard Pound @ Nov 13th 2008 9:59PM]

"Huston we have a problem."

"The lemonade from the lemonade machine taste like urine"

[chef @ Nov 13th 2008 10:01PM]

Actually, in this case, they're using the urine from the urine machine for lemonade.


THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

[lowdef @ Nov 13th 2008 10:15PM]

who is Hutson?

[lowdef @ Nov 13th 2008 10:16PM]

lol i fail. who is huston?