PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteResearchers proposed that engineered yeast could help make polymer feedstock for 3D printing on long space missions, using human urine as a nitrogen source for yeast growth. The idea was not a working spaceflight process: the 2017 report left open whether the yeast would behave the same way in space or produce useful quantities of material.
What the researchers proposed
At the American Chemical Society’s 254th National Meeting and Exposition in 2017, Clemson University biomolecular engineer Mark Blenner presented work involving the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica. A Chemistry World report published on 24 August 2017 said the yeast could grow with human urine as a nitrogen source. Blenner said, “Our yeast not only grow on human urine, they actually prefer it to other nitrogen sources”. (Chemistry World, 24 August 2017)
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
A separately engineered strain of the same yeast was reported to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a family of polymers. The researchers suggested that this polymer might serve as ink for 3D printing objects such as tools or equipment during a mission. The report does not show that urine alone supplies every ingredient needed to grow the yeast and manufacture polymer.
Could astronauts print tools from urine?
Not on the evidence described in the 2017 report. It presented a possible route toward making a polymer feedstock, not a demonstrated system for producing printer-ready material or finished tools in space. The researchers had not established how the yeast biology would respond in space, or shown that the process could produce useful quantities of its target products.
#1 Best Overall
The report gives no numerical result for polymer yield, conversion efficiency, or material strength. It also does not establish printer compatibility or a spaceflight demonstration. Those details matter: producing some PHA in a laboratory is not the same as making material to a dependable specification and printing a usable object aboard a spacecraft.
How this differs from the ISS urine-recovery system
The International Space Station already recovers water from urine, but that is a separate life-support process—not yeast-based polymer production. NASA describes the ISS system as using vacuum distillation, with a brine processor recovering additional water. NASA reported in 2023 that the brine processor helped the system reach a 98% water-recovery goal. That figure concerns water recovery, not polymer production. (NASA, “NASA Achieves Water Recovery Milestone on International Space Station”)
Rank #2
| Approach | Purpose | Maturity and output |
|---|---|---|
| ISS urine-water recovery | Recover water for life support | Operational system using vacuum distillation and brine processing; output is reclaimed water. |
| Proposed yeast-based biomanufacturing | Explore production of a material feedstock | Early research idea; output could be PHA for possible use as 3D-printing ink, but useful production in space was not demonstrated. |
Why microbes are being considered for space exploration
For missions beyond low Earth orbit, researchers are exploring ways to recover useful resources from waste rather than carry every input from Earth. A 2023 review surveys microbial resource-recovery concepts, including waste processing and urea-related materials research. It also discusses a separate concrete-like composite made from albumin and regolith and strengthened by urea; that is not the yeast-to-PHA concept described here. (npj Microgravity, “Microbial applications for sustainable space exploration beyond low Earth orbit,” 2023)
Recommended Free Tools
For the urine-to-polymer proposal, the potential attraction is a biological production route that could turn an available waste stream into a useful material input. The 2017 report, however, does not establish the process’s present status or show that it has advanced to operational space manufacturing.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Tardigrade Water Bear Microbiology Microbiologist
- Hardcover journal with 240 line-ruled pages (120 sheets)
- Built-in elastic closure and ribbon bookmark
- Includes an expandable inner storage pocket and a pen holder
Rank #4
- Supports NSE standards
- Students will gain extra practice with the skills they are learning in their physical, earth, space, and life science curriculums
- Grades 5-8
- Includes 96 pages
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
