Taking the Bear Grylls survival lifestyle to the next level, a crew member of the final space shuttle mission aboard space shuttle Atlantis, which departed on Friday, will reportedly be testing out a new system designed to turn urine into a sugary-flavoured sports drink.

According to reports, the system that will be used to make the wee taste nicer is called a Forward Osmosis Bag and NASA describes it as such:

The Forward Osmosis Bag (FOB) system is designed to convert dirty water into a liquid that is safe to drink using a semi-permeable membrane and a concentrated sugar solution.

Forward osmosis is the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane from a solution of a lower concentration to a solution with a higher concentration.

The semi-permeable membrane acts as a barrier that allows small molecules such as water to pass through while blocking larger molecules like salts, sugars, starches, proteins, viruses, bacteria and parasites.

Apparently, soldiers have been experimenting with the system for a while and it’s now ready for use in space.

It also isn’t the first time a wee-converting system will be used in space, as crews aboard the International Space Station already drink water from a pee-recycling machine that was installed a few years ago.

The new system is about saving energy though, and the FOB system merely requires a full bladder and some patience.

On Earth, the system has been found to be capable of making about a litre of sports drink fluid in four to six hours, and has also been tested in Kenya and Haiti during disaster relief efforts.

It certainly brings new meaning to the saying waste not, want not.

[Source: SydneyMorningHerald]