Learn about the problems scientists face with water on a spacecraft that will carry our men to Mars

The average human needs 9.2 pounds of water everyday to live. That water is then converted into 11 pounds of waste inside the body. In an open loop system where nothing is recycled, one human will use 3360.3 pounds of water and 4017.75 pounds of waste water. Recycling is a must considering the terrifying weight that one must carry in a Mars mission.

Reclaiming waste water is the beginning. Wash water, urine, and caving humidity condensate can all be purified and used again f or drinking. Electrolysismay also be used to convert some of the reclaimed water into oxygen. Also weight in water and electricity can be saved in what is called a fuel cell. A fuel cell carries an oxygen tank and a hydrogen tank. It combines the oxygen and hydrogen atoms together to form water and in the process electricity is formed. This way, no batteries would be required therefore weight would be saved for other payloads.