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In research presented in 2017, scientists described using the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica to grow with human urine as a nitrogen source, alongside a genetically engineered strain reported to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). The team suggested PHA could serve as 3D-printing ink for useful mission items. That was a proposed application—not a demonstrated process for making tools in space.
What the microbes were reported to do
At the American Chemical Society’s 254th National Meeting and Exposition in 2017, Clemson University biomolecular engineer Mark Blenner presented work involving Yarrowia lipolytica. A Chemistry World report said the yeast could grow using human urine as a nitrogen source. Blenner summarized the finding this way: “Our yeast not only grow on human urine, they actually prefer it to other nitrogen sources”. Chemistry World’s 2017 report describes the work.
The urine’s reported role matters: it supplied nitrogen for yeast growth. The report does not show that urine alone provided every input needed to manufacture polymer.
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A genetically engineered strain of the same yeast was reported to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs—a family of polymers. The researchers proposed using the material as ink for 3D printing items such as tools or equipment during long missions. This connects two research ideas—growing yeast with urine-derived nitrogen and producing PHA with an engineered strain—but does not establish that urine was converted directly into finished printing material in one complete process.
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The 2017 account does not give a polymer yield, conversion efficiency, material-strength result, or evidence that the proposed material worked in a particular printer. It also says researchers still needed to establish how the yeast would behave in space and to demonstrate production of useful quantities. The report was coverage of research presented at a scientific meeting, not evidence of a flight-tested manufacturing system.
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. NASA describes vacuum distillation followed by brine processing to recover additional water. In 2023, NASA said the brine processor helped the system achieve its 98% water-recovery goal. That figure concerns water recovery, not yeast growth or polymer production. NASA’s account of the water-recovery milestone explains the system.
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| Approach | Purpose | Status in the cited sources | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISS urine-water recovery | Recover water from urine and brine | Operational system described by NASA in 2023 | Reclaimed water; NASA reported achievement of a 98% water-recovery goal |
| Yeast-based biomanufacturing concept | Explore urine-supported yeast growth and PHA production | Early research presented in 2017; space behavior and useful production quantities were unresolved in the report | Potential polymer feedstock for 3D printing; no yield or printer-performance result stated |
A 2023 review of microbial resource-recovery concepts for exploration beyond low Earth orbit discusses other waste-processing and urea-related materials research. It also describes a distinct albumin-and-regolith composite strengthened by urea. That construction-material concept is not the same as yeast producing PHA. The review in npj Microgravity provides that broader context.
What astronauts could—and could not—make from waste
The idea is that microbes might turn mission waste streams into useful biological materials, reducing the need to carry every resource from Earth. For this specific yeast research, however, the evidence supports a possible future route to polymer, not a capability astronauts can rely on. The cited sources do not establish current project status, a spaceflight demonstration, printer compatibility, or a production quantity sufficient to make tools.
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