Chris Hadfield explains how the recycled water is cleaner than what we get on Earth

Apr 27, 2013 14:21 GMT  ·  By

Astronaut Chris Hadfield has revealed many of the mysteries of every day aboard the International Space Station. Though he's only got a few more weeks to spend in space, his videos keep getting better and more interesting.

The latest has to do with water and how it's recycled aboard the space station. As you can imagine, even with all precautions, astronauts use up a lot of water on any given day, water which has to be flown up to the ISS.

Shipping anything to space is incredibly expensive, which is why the ISS has been recycling most of its water since 2010.

At this point, about 93 percent of used water is recycled, so a much smaller quantity has to be shipped up. What's more, the water is recycled in real time, so astronauts have a constant supply of clean water.

And, before you ask, all kinds of used "water" are recycled, including urine. Don't worry though, the water astronauts end up drinking is cleaner than what we get back here on Earth.