Astronauts may 1 day grow food using their own waste
Technology
Turns out, astronauts might be able to use their own waste to grow food on the Moon and Mars.
A Texas A&M University study found that a system called BLiSS can turn human waste into nutrients, making space soil better for plants.
What is the system called BLiSS?
BLiSS, developed at NASA's Kennedy facility, processes human waste and wastewater using high-tech reactors and processors.
It produces a nutrient-rich effluent containing plant-essential nutrients.
Could help in long-duration space missions
By enriching lunar and Martian regolith simulants with nutrients such as sulfur and calcium, BLiSS could help future space travelers grow their own food far from Earth.
That means longer missions (and maybe even living on the Moon or Mars) could actually be possible someday.