The three crew members of the International Space Station raised plastic pouches in a toast of their first taste of urine that had been recycled into drinkable water. “The taste is great,” said Michael R. Barratt, a flight engineer. A recycling system, installed last fall, purifies the urine. Recycling is crucial, especially with the station crew expanding to six people this month, because of the cost of transporting water from Earth. At the station’s mission control room in Houston, people cheered and drank similarly recycled water. A distillation unit in the system initially proved balky, and a replacement was brought up and installed in March. After the system passed tests, the station’s two astronauts and one cosmonaut finally took a sip.

Pay attention, kids. This is where the world is heading.

-janelane, environmental engineer