cosmonaut in space are kind of like royal family : They ’re never alone , and someone is always watching . This is , in part , becausedoing hooey in spaceis inherently gripping . It ’s also because nearly everything they do is scientifically relevant . just existing in a space vehicle is an experiment in itself , and Mission Control is always accumulate datum . Some of that information comes from proctor aboard the space craftsmanship . Some is register by the spaceman themselves . And some of that data is pee .
blank space travel takes a toll on the human consistency . Astronauts have to manage withshrinking hearts , squashed eyeball , stretched spikelet , and a personnel casualty of bone density . It ’s that last one that worry a team of chemists at NASA ’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center . The distance programme hopes to eventually send human beings to Mars , but we certainly ca n’t do it if the trip will wreck our frame .
AsSmarter Every Dayhost Destin Sandlin establish in the video above , traveller aboard the International Space Station keep up arigorous exercise programto keep their bones potent . It ’s unmanageable to get in a proficient exercising without gravity , so the space computer programme is act upon to fine - tune the exercise machines . To do that , they demand to know how well the existing car help preserve off-white tightness . And to do that , they need pee .
Our pee is a pretty skilful indicator of what ’s going on in our bodies . It serves as a repository for all the excess chemicals , nutrient , and mineral we do n’t need . Astronauts misplace bone mass will have eminent storey of atomic number 20 in their weewee . Or , as Destin puts it , “ they pee out their bones . ”
The piddle is garner in space and comes back down with the spaceman . By the time it reaches the science lab , it ’s come a long , long way . The government goes to great length to keep the urine good . As NASA biochemist Scott Smith explain in the telecasting : “ It is considered a national hoarded wealth . ”
coping icon via YouTube //SmarterEveryDay
[ h / tThe Nerdist ]
