Water, water, water!
Water is extremely important on ISS and we take measures to monitor its quality on a regular basis. Today I took the first of a series of classes aimed at making me familiar with all the water sampling and analysis procedures that I’ll be schedule to perform on orbit. This intro class focused on the equipment and the logistics. We’ll have more integrated activities in future training events closer to flight.
Take a look at the picture! Don’t you love color-coded? A color for microbiology anaylisis, one for the iodine analysis, another one for the Total Organic Carbon Analyser and one final color for return to Houston for ground analysis.
Did I mention that the water we drink onboard is mostly recycled from urine? That’s the story for another day, but be assured: it’s probably “cleaner” than most of the water we drink on Earth!
Water analysis bags. Credits: NASA
19/08/2013