Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore surviving on soup made from recycled urine: Report – Times of India
Aboard the International Space Station, crew members are consuming soup prepared from their purified urine. Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who have been isolated in space since June, are sustaining themselves with recycled pee soup.
The stranded astronauts on the ISS have expressed worries about their declining weight who are relying on soup produced from their filtered urine, according to a news from Daily Star.
Butch Wilmore, 61, and Sunita Williams, 59, initially planned for an eight-day mission when they launched in June. Their return was halted when the Boeing Starliner vessel developed thruster complications and helium seepage, rendering a crewed return too hazardous.
The crew must remain at the space station, positioned 254 miles above Earth, until a SpaceX Dragon vessel arrives for their retrieval in February 2025.
The unexpected extension has strained food resources. Their initial menu included pizza, roast chicken, prawn cocktails and fresh produce. Currently, they primarily consume dehydrated casseroles, reconstituted soup using water from the station’s 530-gallon reservoir, and breakfast cereal with powdered milk.
The ISS maximises efficiency by converting crew perspiration and urine into potable water.
Nasa medical staff continuously assess their dietary intake to ensure sufficient caloric consumption throughout their extended mission.
The astronauts display noticeable weight reduction, though Sunita attributes her thinner appearance to extended exposure to microgravity rather than dietary factors.
Nasa personnel maintain constant surveillance of their provisions and wellbeing, allocating roughly 3.8 lb of food daily per astronaut, including emergency reserves.
They prepare meals using magnetised equipment and metal utensils to prevent items drifting in zero gravity. Nasa experts maintain that weight changes are not linked to food scarcity, as supplies remain adequate for extended stays.
