Can pee be turned into drinking water? According to NASA, yes

A NASA reached a new milestone by developing a system that converts urine into drinkable water aboard the International Space Station (ISS). With the ability to recover 98% of wastewater, including astronauts' urine, this breakthrough could make future manned space missions more efficient.

How does the technique work?

Deep space exploration missions, such as a possible trip to Mars, require spacecraft to be able to recycle resources, such as air and water, due to the extended duration of the trip. In this way, astronauts depend on supplies brought from Earth or on cargo ships to meet their basic needs, which is not feasible in long-term missions.

So, the American body dedicated itself to the creation of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that would allow the recovery and reprocessing of water on board the ISS. This system comprises several units, including a Water Recovery System, a Water Processing Unit (WPA), a Urine Processing Unit (UPA) and a Brine (BPA).

In this process, water from the crew's urine, breath and sweat is collected and passes through an advanced dehumidification system, which removes moisture from the air. The UPA then uses vacuum distillation to remove most of the water from the urine, leaving a residual urine brine.

This urine brine is then routed to the BPA, where water evaporation occurs through the use of membrane technology and hot, dry air. The steam is collected and treated to remove any contamination before it is turned into safe, drinkable water.

Results obtained

Tests carried out have shown that the system achieves a recovery rate of 98% of wastewater, an impressive number. In this sense, it is important to point out that the liquid resulting from this process passes through additional filters and a catalytic reactor to ensure purity, as well as being treated with iodine to eliminate any microorganisms gifts.

According to Jill Williamson, manager of water subsystems at ECLSS, reclaimed water is cleaner than consumed water. on Earth, emphasizing that the crew is not drinking urine directly, but reclaimed, filtered and purified.

This groundbreaking discovery brings hope for future long-duration space missions, paving the way for human exploitation beyond Earth orbit.