Comments on: NASA astronauts to drink their own urine today?

The latest NASA mission is trying out a new water recycling device.

[conchchowder]

Ok. Now where do you think YOUR water comes from. The evaporated moisture from rotting animal carcases, rotting vegetable matter, seawater, the recycled human waste from water treatment plants, etc. This falls as rainwater, or sometimes purified through osmosis, and fills reservoirs for delivery to your tap.

The food you eat? Grown in soil enriched by miasma, feces, and chemicals and then sometimes consumed by other animals who further add to the fecal load of your food.

Drinking recycled urine?

You do it every day.

[nagpalss]

It is a great news that NASA astonauts will drink their own urine. I am sure if they will drink urine they can live in the sky as long as they can and even without food. I drink my urine daily and i live with very little food. This should be a compulsory practice for all astraunauts.
S.S.Nagpal, AGRA.

[joeDplumR]

I concure. I too drink your urine daily and have spent much time trying to convince others to do the same.

Pulitzer material. Thank you for not waisting our time with anything substantial (such as how the process works!)

[LusodoRibatejo]

conchchowder hit the nail in the head...To me the problem is in the media, in the US the problem is bigger :)..I live here btw...not many people want to really see or know how the food source worx...I am actually surprise that Dirty Jobs made it so far....Many people would faint if they would know what they are really eating and drinking...Instead what looks good in the foto is what goes..never mind it's components...People that got used to be spoiled live in a different world and I am sorry that the author is loosing the sense of reality...

[dpcham123]

It is indeed important for all of us to realize that we are not contributing towards nature care. If we keep on destroying the natural setup of forests and rivers and lakes, we are going to end up drinking our own Urine few decades down the line in the earth itself , not only while doing space walking. LET US ALL REALIZE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND HELP RE GROW THE NATURAL ELEMENTS OF THE EARTH.

[cabgx2]

They had better hope the filter works.

[sashee5]

Ah, see we have had the answer to the oil crisis all along - urine! Have the big 3 automakers divise a way to make cars, trucks, etc to run with urine as the fuel! There's plenty of it around, it's made as we speak, why not put it to use that way INSTEAD of using it as a refreshment! And the real beauty of it, If you get up many times through the night as I do, you'd have probably enough to put in the tank to get you to work in the morning... NO more stopping for fuel on the way to work!!!! lol Eco friendly eh?

[Douglas Hornig]

I've got news for you: do you think that the water that falls from the sky on Earth is "brand new"? It's been contaminated and distilled over and over again for billions of years. What you've been drinking all you life used to be urine, and worse.

[conchchowder]

"I've got news for you: do you think that the water that falls from the sky on Earth is "brand new"? It's been contaminated and distilled over and over again for billions of years. What you've been drinking all you life used to be urine, and worse. "
Um...what do you think the first post said?

[drfugawe]

Jeeze, get over it! You're a big boy now - this is exactly why America is such a sick nation.

[kirtanman]

WOW. Just ... Wow (well, other expletives and expressions, too -- but since this is a sorta family blog thingy, I'll refrain. Possibly.) OK, so, the distillation gizmo costs -- did I read that correctly -- $250 Million Dollars -- aka *substantially* more tax-dollars than most of us will ever pay in our entire *lives* -- purely (pun oh-so-fully intended) because our "best brightest and most courageous" -- these helpfully hydrated astronauts under discussion, who are risking their lives every moment they're in space -- have a *cultural aversion* to engaging in a simple and proven health practice that has been around for thousands of years?That's enough to really pi ... ostulate that "conceptual reformatting" is what's needed here, not a $250 Million Gizmo, and a team of crack scientists (as in: whoever put the team together is metaphorically smoking crack, per above.) <- & yes, I do get that, biohydrologically-speaking (all together now: "Ewwwww!") -- *sigh* -- pee-pee alone may not a hydrated spacefarer make (i.e. *some* distillation may be needed; but betcha the smart people at NASA could figure out a way that's south of $250 Million, though (a hermetically sealed baggie, and a little 3x5 card {Copies $0.06 ea. @ Kinko's) which reads:

1. Shake vigorously (baggie, not ... nevermind)
2. Suck it up, big guy; it's good for you! That's a GOOD Astronaut!
3. Bottoms Up!

Total cost: $0.48 cents, and a lifelong misperception!

Hey, President-Elect Obama, I'm available if NASA needs an experienced Amaroli (aka "Urine Therapy") Consultant, and heck, 'cause I like you, I'll do it for $250,000 thou a year. And yep, I've "done" the deed. Repeatedly. The health benefits are tangible, and it's *not that bad*. & Most people don't know this, but urine is not a "dirty"; it's actually got a chemical composition, via prefiltering (aka *kidneys* - which cost a bit less than $250 Mil. to operate) to *blood* -- & noo, I'm not advocating vampirism; but who reading this hasn't licked a little cut, or otherwise tasted blood, with needing to run it through a 250MG <- $250 Million Gizmo ... first? It's 100% a *mindset* thing; that's ALL. Regular folks from all walks of life, all over the world, enjoy the "beverage that dare not speak its name" - http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=409 . I'd write a little more, but am feeling the need to go ... make a breakfast drink.

[wgp548]

I'm sorry that is just down right disgusting...filter or not....

[cnrfallon]

Hey, urine's sterile, haven't you seen the movie dodge ball?

[itpaysbigmoney]

I think everybody is missing the point! $250 Million for NASA to find out if urine can be consumed in space?? 250 Million dollars, this country is sick! What are we going to find in space anyway - that it is vast? that their is a moon with a gravatational pull? that there are planets? NO THAT WE CAN DRINK OUR OWN URINE!! STOP WASTING MONEY ON GOING TO SPACE TO RECYCLE URINE AND TO EXPLORE, IT IS RIDICULES AS CORPORATE BAILOUTS! GIVE ME MY TAX MONEY BACK TO PAY MY OWN DEBT NOT SOMEONE ELSES!

[Murphious]

They waste so much to explore space, just so in a few centuries we can go out and pollute another planet after we ruin this one! I was all for exploration when I was an "innocent" child. Now, after seeing what could and should be done with all that effort, it seems a waste to not use the brilliant minds and that money for improving life on Earth.

[candide08]

How STUPID are you people ar CNET?

They are no more drinking their urine that you are. What is being done is water recycling, just like here on Earth, only faster and more contained.

What a bunch of idiots you are.

[lexijayson]

at least not at the cost of 250 Million dollars. Do you care to do some mathematical analysis of cost? Have you cared to compare what it cost to filter water in your own kitchen? Probably, we should be asking how come we need to be bailing corporations out of the current financial crisis. may be our management paractices are a little 'extra-economic'. let's filter but not at the cost of 250 Million dollars!!!!!!

[rapier1]

Lets see... the cost to launch a pound in to low earth orbit by the cheapest possible method is roughly $3,000. That means a gallon of water costs $24,000 to get to the space station. If you have 6 people on the station (which is the new crew size) and each consumes roughly 1 gallon of water a day that's $144,000 a day or $52.5 million a year for water. So at $250 million that means this device has a 5 year pay back schedule. Which is pretty good. Of course, if your lift costs are higher then the pay back schedule is reduced by around 18 months for every additional $1000.

Also you can use that new lift capacity (since you aren't hauling as much water) for more important material. I'm somewhat doubtful of the $250 million price tag as well. Is that the cost of this single device or does it include the entire cost of the project research, overhead, transportation, and so forth? It's also important to point out that some device like this is going to be critical for any long haul zero gravity travel - like say to mars.

Lastly, comparing this to a kitchen water filter is just silly and you know that. This isn't just for distilling the water out of urine (distillation is difficult in zero g) its also a method to collect excess moisture from the air. This is pretty important in the space station (or in any place using constantly recirculated air) which has a continuing problem with mold growth due to high humidty caused by exhaled and evaporated water from the astronauts.

[mssoot]

rapier1,
you forgot to factor in the elimination of the multi million dollar urinals (and whatever they call the female version) replaced by this thing and the reduction of use of a disposal system. (space logs excepted)

[lexijayson]

it just interesting to think of some poor fellas on the streets of Africa. No hope and they are ready to sail the raging sea in a cup to europe. they would die anyway if they don't. they may succeed if they tried. but come to think of it, they need just a little fraction of 250 Million dollars to create a local economy sufficient to sustain them above the poverty line of living on less than a dollar a day. Human souls that need hope require very little to bring them back to life.
if you have ever been thirsty for just one day and you must have a drink at the cost of 250 Million dollars, I tell you that can do more for many souls who would brave the raging sea in a cup to find hope in another land. Let's give the world hope at a cost less than 250 Million dollars per drink

[rapier1]

Hey, do us a favor and take your wallet and give it to the next homeless guy on the street, okay? I mean really, all you are going to use that money for is something as pointless as paying an ISP so you can get on line and natter away in forums like this. Shouldn't *you* be using that money for something much more important?
Thanks for playing!

[astrogirl1usa]

You tell 'em rapier1! People just don't realize the benefits they have gotten and still are getting, from all of the science done associated with a space program, especially the shuttle program. If they did, they wouldn't be saying these things.

[ChazKl0wn]

Two thoughts that I want to share:

1) I realize $250 million is alot of money and our country is hurting financially, but do you realize that for every $1 spent in space, $7 is contributed back to planet? Space travel and science is an investment with divdends!

2) While the shuttle program is retiring 2010, to say Soyuzes is the only vehichle to operate is just simply wrong. Chris, check out Nasa's new vehichle called Ares I and Ares V.

[JimMuccio]

This will be the first and last time I visit a ?Technically Incorrect? article. What I thought might be some entertaining satire turns out to be borderline serious ? and the readers take it seriously. Absolute garbage! Not worth the bits and bytes it is published with. And to quote from a production that actually did have some satirical entertainment value, ?Everyone is stupider for having listened; I award you no points and my God have mercy on your soul?. Make that everyone because I am including most of the half-wits who made comments as well. For those who don?t fall below the half witted threshold ? stop reading this trash and don?t waste your energy sparing with this readership.

Because I feel strongly about blogs and comments in general, I will force myself to make a comment here and join the half-wits because it is the appropriate protocol if I am going to earn the right to rant.

Regardless of how you might feel about space exploration, ultimately we will venture off this planet. It is absolutely essential that engineering achievements and scientific breakthroughs push science. Space exploration is just one of the venues where these advancements are made. Just like when we push into our vast underwater domain here on earth, where we have to recycle and scrub air in order to breathe, we have to do the more with even less when we venture into space. Go read about real science and engineering if you are interested in this topic.

[joeDplumR]

Wow. Thank you for that. You've changed my life. You really should give pee a chance though.

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

Give pea a chance... Oh, joeDplumR,

You've made my day with that one....I can't say I'll try it any time soon. But you've changed my perspective.

Let us hope for pea in our lifetime...

Chris

[surajit1961]

recycled ? my gosh. why not pure urine? indian prime minister Morarji Desai( 1977-1980) used to drink his own urine on a regular basis. i am speaking officially. he advised many foreign dignitaries to drink their urine for health benefit. he became prime minister at 80. he was the fittest prime minister India ever had. he was awarded BHARAT RATNA-the highest award of India before his death.

[ChrisMatyszczyk]

Prime Minster Desai was, indeed, the prime Prime Minister I was referring to, surajit1961.

He was a very, very interesting man.

Chris

[mkfoley]

What yellow journalism! (Pun noted, but not intended.) They will not be drinking urine this trip. A sample will be returned to earth for testing first. Do your homework.

[gellegbs]

Why in the world does anyone need to know this?

[justicetek]

I like puppies. There so cute and cuddly, and I love to smell their breath. Puppy breath is nice, right?

[candide08]

Puppies taste like chicken.