Space Urine to be Recycled into Drinking Water

ORLANDO, FL-- The countdown is underway for NASA's planned launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour Friday.

The mission will carry astronauts and a one of a kind sewage treatment plant to the International Space Station.

The new system is efficient enough even turn urine into clean drinking water.

Astronaut Sandy Magnus will start up the water recycling system after it's transferred from the shuttle to the space station.

"There's five containers of waste water from the Russian toilet to start the regeneration system going," said Magnus.

NASA has been designing and building this system for more than a decade.

It's been one of the toughest parts of the international space station to get right.

Water is often something astronauts like to have fun with.

But think about it: there's nowhere to get it in space.

What's more, when you drink or use water, it doesn't disappear.

Every drop you take with you can be cleaned and used again.

This system can recover moisture exhaled in the crew's breath, evaporated sweat, water used for washing, and, yes, urine. And make it pure enough to drink.

The system will be operational during this mission, however astronauts won't begin drinking the output until a sample is brought back to earth for testing.