ISS Crew Gets Go Ahead to Drink Recycled Urine

NASA has given the crew of astronauts aboard the International Space Station the go ahead to drink their own pee.

NASA yesterday announced that following a report from the Water Recovery System team the crew on the ISS have been given the thumbs up to drink water that the station's new recycling system has purified.

"This has been the stuff of science fiction. Everybody's talked about recycling water in a closed loop system, but nobody's ever done it
before. Here we are today with the first round of recycled water," said Expedition 19 Commander Flight Engineer Mike Barrett.

“We're really happy for this day and for the team that put this together. This is the kind of technology that will get us to the moon and further," added Barrett toasting with fellow flight Engineer, Gennady Padalka.

"The taste is great," the AP cites Barratt as saying. As Padalka tried to catch little bubbles of recycled water floating in front of him, Barratt called the taste one "worth chasing."

While it might sound completely gross to us, the water is probably cleaner than what we drink on earth. That being said, I’d rather take my chances with Earth water than drink the purified urine of a rat. Really.

"Lab animals on the ISS breath and urinate, too, and we plan to reclaim their waste products along with the crew's. A full complement of 72 rats would equal about one human in terms of water reclamation," says Layne Carter, a water-processing specialist at the MSFC, according to a Nasa.gov.

Would you drink recycled urine? Sound off in the comments!