International Space Station

Translated by: Isabel Zetina 

Have you ever questioned if there would be enough food at the store for everyone in your community? If you frequent a grocery store or market, probably not. Every Sunday I go to the grocery store with a list of foods I’ll need for the week and no contingency plan for what to do if there isn’t enough. If something is out of stock, I’ll just go to the next grocery store down the road. We take it for granted that certain foods will always be available for us to purchase. However, many people do not have the luxury of a reliable food source.

Pourriez-vous boire votre propre urine ? Pour la majorité, cette mesure ne serait prise que dans les cas les plus extrêmes. Cependant, les astronautes de la Station Spatiale Internationale (SSI ou ISS, Internationale Space Station, en anglais) boivent leur urine recyclée tous les jours depuis 10 ans. En 2008, l’SSI installe un Système de Récupération des Eaux (Water Recovery System en anglais) a bord de la station, permettant de recycler les eaux usées en transformant les urines, la sueur et l’humidité atmosphérique en eau potable.

Translated by: Isabel Zetina

Merci à Denis Gringas d'avoir traduit cet article volontairement.

How would you feel about drinking your own urine? To most, it is a measure that would only be taken in the direst of circumstances. However, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have been drinking recycled urine every day for the past decade. In 2008, the ISS installed the Water Recovery System, a wastewater recycling device which converts urine, sweat, and atmospheric moisture into drinking water. This device has allowed the ISS to be much more self-sufficient and devices like it could serve to more sustainably produce clean water on Earth.