STEM与日常科技·英语30篇（2）
26 / 30
正在校验访问权限...
How Space Stations Recycle Water and Regenerate Oxygen
空间站循环水与氧气再生
-
On the International Space Station, every drop of water is recycled repeatedly to reduce resupply needs.
-
Urine, sweat, and cabin humidity are collected and purified using multi-stage filtration and catalytic reactors.
-
The Water Recovery System removes contaminants and kills microbes with iodine and high-temperature catalysis.
-
Recovered water meets strict NASA standards and is safe enough to drink, though astronauts rarely do so.
-
Oxygen is regenerated mainly through electrolysis—splitting recycled water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.
-
The oxygen gas is released into the cabin air, while hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide to make water and methane.
-
Carbon dioxide removal uses amine beads that absorb CO₂ from cabin air during normal breathing cycles.
-
This closed-loop system recovers over 90% of water and about 40% of oxygen onboard.
-
Without such recycling, the ISS would need hundreds of kilograms of new water and oxygen each month.
-
These life-support technologies also guide future designs for Moon bases and Mars missions.