WIRED Staff
Science

Slideshow: Don't Flush It -- Breathe It

Astronauts use up lots of oxygen, but they also produce plenty of raw material for making more of it. The unlikely source: pee. Add filters and electrolysis, and urine could open up new vistas for interplanetary travel. By Philip Chien.
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Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev tinkers with the Elektron oxygen-generation system. The device uses electrolysis to turn purified urine into breathable air.Photo courtesy of NASA

See related story: Don't Flush It -- Breathe It

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Astronaut Daniel W. Bursch hard at work on the Elektron Oxygen Generator in the Zvezda Service Module on the International Space Station.

Photo courtesy of NASA
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Cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev makes repairs to the Elektron oxygen generator in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Photo courtesy of NASA