Have you ever helped organize a blood drive at work? Well, imagine asking employees to donate another bodily fluid instead.
NASA needs urine — about 8 gallons a day, even on weekends.
It’s for the construction of the next space capsule, Orion, that would eventually take astronauts to the moon for visits of up to six months.
NASA’s head of life support systems for Orion, John Lewis, says they need to solve the issue of how to get rid of stored urine.
The challenge is keeping the waste disposal system clear because of the solids suspended in urine. Those solids can clog a venting system.
NASA has a proud tradition of collecting urine from its employees to design better space toilets because, “you can’t make fake urine,” according to Lewis.
The memo seeking daily urine contributions from July 21 to 31 from about 30 people wasn’t meant to go public. If you’re interested, you can read the text of the memo at Nasawatch.com.
