Researchers are developing a way to convert astronaut urine and exhaled carbon dioxide into plastics to make tools in space.
The idea of using human waste in space isn't new: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station already drink water converted from their sweat, showers, and pee.
The newly developed system relies on specific strains of yeast, that use urea in urine and carbon dioxide from astronauts' exhaled breath, to produce polyester polymers that can be used in a 3-D printer to make new plastic parts, while other strains can even produce essential omega-3 fatty acid nutrients for the astronauts.
The research could enable long-duration space trips and make a trip to Mars possible in future.
A The study results will be presented today at the 254th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.
According to the leader of Dr Mark Blenner, the leader of the study and a researcher at Clemson University in South Carolina, astronauts can't take many spare parts into space because every extra ounce adds to the cost of fuel needed to escape Earth's gravity.
The idea of using human waste in space isn't new: Astronauts aboard the International Space Station already drink water converted from their sweat, showers, and pee.
The newly developed system relies on specific strains of yeast, that use urea in urine and carbon dioxide from astronauts' exhaled breath, to produce polyester polymers that can be used in a 3-D printer to make new plastic parts, while other strains can even produce essential omega-3 fatty acid nutrients for the astronauts.
The research could enable long-duration space trips and make a trip to Mars possible in future.
A The study results will be presented today at the 254th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.
According to the leader of Dr Mark Blenner, the leader of the study and a researcher at Clemson University in South Carolina, astronauts can't take many spare parts into space because every extra ounce adds to the cost of fuel needed to escape Earth's gravity.