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Water is an important commodity during spaceflight. The Shuttle-Orbiter produces water on-orbit as a direct result of electricity generation. Hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells provide ample water for drinking, food rehydration and hygiene purposes. During the Shuttle-Mir program, water was transferred between the orbiter and the Mir space station to provide crewmembers with drinking water and water to be used for electrolysis for oxygen production. Due to the incompatibility of Russian and U.S. drinking water biocides (silver versus iodine), methods and hardware were developed to remove iodine and allow for the addition of silver biocide and minerals. At the completion of the Mir program, 5,800 kilograms of water had been transferred from the Orbiter to Mir. A refined version of the hardware used during the Mir program is now under flight development and certification for operations on board the International Space Station (ISS).

The goal of the Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program’ss effort at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is to conduct research and technology development leading to biore-generative approaches suitable for integrated human testing in the Bioregenerative Planetary Life Support Systems Test Complex (BIO-Plex) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). One of the major elements of the KSC effort has been testing the feasibility of linking waste processing and biomass production. Research to date indicates that two approaches are viable candidates for further integrated testing. The first, direct recycling of graywater (i.e, shower and wash water) into hydroponic plant production systems, requires minimal additional costs since it utilizes processes within the plant production system (i.e., high microbial activity associated with the plant roots and plant evapotranspiration) to process and purify the hygiene water.