NASA Astronauts To Drink Their Own Urine To Save Resources

It's a water-recycling device that will process the crew's urine for communal consumption.

"We did blind taste tests of the water," said NASA's Bob Bagdigian, the system's lead engineer. "Nobody had any strong objections. Other than a faint taste of iodine, it is just as refreshing as any other kind of water."

"I've got some in my fridge," he added. "It tastes fine to me."

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Comments

[LawrenceR]

... Hmmm, it is becoming increasingly clear that this may very well have something to do with the phenomenon of natural selection through the anthropological socialization via color... It appears that whenever subjects are to be found within their surroundings clothed in orange jumpsuits -aggresive tendancies come to the fore whereby unsuspecting individuals are forced into uncompromising positions by their Alpha-male handlers... Further studies are required...

[nycelite]

Recycling water doesn't strike me as that big of a deal, but the scrapping of the shuttle program with no US alternative does worry me a bit.

[humbop]

Maybe they should rename the space station Arakis.

[DoctorWhoDat]

The current administration and Fox news have been drinking it for years

[macintoshsauce]

Yummy for my tummy! LOL

[photog606]

Tastes like TANG...

[AlFeldzamen]

As noted, EVERYBODY DRINKS RECYCLED URINE! What do you think happens to your urine, that it disappears from the universe? Of course it is recycled . . . into our rivers and streams, into clouds and then snow and rain and sleet and hail, and then into the earth's aquafers, through filtration systems, into the tap in your kitchen. Isn't that obvious?

[KillTheMessenger]

Big deal. The Earth is an almost completely closed systems in terms of matter (not energy, though) and everything we excrete comes back to us one way or another. This is exactly the same thing, just on a smaller scale.

[applehead]

that's not so weird. the Ayatollah Khomeini used to too --- and so does karl rove, probably. or is it blood?

[TheWanderer]

Do they get to drink each other's as well? Seems just drinking your own would get boring after a while. Just sayin'.

[truthynesslover]

It doesnt even need to be filtered;
Egyptian medical texts and Chinese and Indian documents mention the benefits of drinking one's urine, while the Aztecs used it to disinfect wounds.

Contrary to popular perception, urine is not a by-product of the body's waste disposal system but of blood filtration.

Nutrient-filled blood passes through the liver, where toxins are removed and excreted as solid waste. The purified blood then goes through another filtering process via the kidneys, where components for which the body has no immediate use are collected in a sterile, watery solution.

For that reason, urine is highly sterile. It consists of 95 percent water and five percent nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, proteins, antibodies and other beneficial ingredients.

Advocates of auto-urine therapy believe this combination can help cure everything from the common cold to cancer, boost energy levels and sexual performance.

While the practice has always been popular in China, India and south-east Asia, a small but growing band of Western fans are also downing a daily dose.

[Sapphdia]

Someone told me that you could drink urine. I guess if survival depends on it...

[stewajf]

Patches: Is it necessary that I drink my own urine?

Peter La Fleur: Probably not.

Patches: No, but it's sterile and I like the taste.

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[lisakaz2]

Ugh!!!!!!!!! Waaaay too much information.

[BurtR]

Yogis recommend it. comes from the siberian shamanic practice of eating psychedelic mushrooms then offering the piss to the peasants because there was still some active ingdient in the pee

[SneathLane]

They aren't drinking urine, they're drinking water. The non-water stuff has been removed. Like in natural water recycling on earth.

[ripples]

ride the rocket up, circle earth, go for a walk, take some pictures, do some repairs, and then ride back to earth...this has been going on for way tooooo long...nasa should either change their act or shut down...riding around the pretty blue marble is old, boring, and too damn expensive

[maryhaze]

no kidding!!!! there is so much that needs to be done on this planet, why the hell are we wasting money & resources on ridiculous programs like this????

[Sapphdia]

Because the Earth is getting closer to the sun every year and the pollution is destroying to planet. The job of Nasa is to find another planet on which humans can live. Sounds strange, but Hollywood stars are buying plots of land on the moon. Million and billionaires are shelling out tons of money to ride on space shuttles. Do you honestly know what they are up there doing? I don't think that it is about enjoying the ride.