NASA reaches 'major milestone' in urine tech



Click through to see other unusual NASA experiments. less NASA's Johnson Space Center recently spoke about its latest urine-to-water recovery technology, which they called it a "major milestone" for deep space exploration.

Click through to see other unusual NASA ... more NASA's Johnson Space Center recently spoke about its latest urine-to-water recovery technology, which they called it a "major milestone" for deep space exploration. Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close NASA reaches 'major milestone' in urine tech 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

Hollywood's science-fiction flicks rarely make audiences think about bathroom breaks when their heroes are out and about exploring the universe, but NASA says urine may be the "X factor" to exploring deep space.

After a urine distiller clogged on the International Space Station in 2009, NASA vowed to revamp its urine-to-water recovery system. At the time, NASA's technology could only recover 75 percent of water from urine.

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Engineers at the Johnson Space Center came up with a solution, a new chemical called "Alternative Urine Pretreatment," or AUP. When the toilet is flushed at the space station, a few droplets of AUP are added, minimizing buildup inside the plumbing and increasing the urine-to-water recovery rate.

Amazingly, this technology allowed NASA to reach a 90 percent water recovery rate, something NASA called a major milestone in the journey to Mars and beyond.

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"The goal is not to take large amounts of water with us to space, but to be able to take the water cycle itself to space," said Dean Muirhead, an engineer with Barrios Technology, in a prepared statement. "This project was another step in facing the water-cycle challenge and creating a closed life support system in space."

Muirhead explained that this means closing the "water loop."

"Where other people see urine, I see a vital resource that is going to help astronauts survive," Muirhead said. "To accomplish long-duration spaceflight, we need to develop these technologies that allow us to live independently of Earth."

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But this technology isn't only for space exploration, it will have practical benefits on Earth too.

"Cities and countries on Earth are struggling for clean water, so anytime we can understand how to conserve and reuse water, it is not only helping space exploration, but we are benefiting all of humanity," Muirhead said.

Click through above to see other unusual experiments and projects NASA has worked on.