Astronaut Pee Turned Into Fuel
Posted: April 14, 2014 Filed under: Science & Technology, Space & Aviation | Tags: Ames Research Center, Drinking water, Eduardo Nicolau, International Space Station, NASA, Nicolau, University of Puerto Rico, Urine 1 CommentAlyssa Denigelis reports: It’s a classic fact that astronaut urine can be processed into drinkable water. Now a new bioreactor could turn the waste filtered from that pee into an energy source as well.
When water supplies run low on a space mission, astronaut urine can be treated to become drinking water. But the waste removed is still, well, waste. University of Puerto Rico scientists Eduardo Nicolau and Carlos R. Cabrera, working in collaboration with the NASA Ames Research Center, came up with a new approach to make use of the waste.