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The International Space Station is a modular space station in low Earth orbit. The ISS program is a multi-national collaborative project between five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA.

At any given time, it hosts 5-6 astronauts performing a number of experiments, conducting research, and doing a bunch of other stuff to enhance our knowledge of how things work in space.

Needless to say, there are a number of life support systems aboard the International Space Station to ensure that the crew’s stay there is as comfortable as possible in space.

The three most important things that humans need to survive are, water, food, and oxygen. So today we will talk about how astronauts get oxygen so far above Earth’s surface.

Electrolysis is the primary method by which oxygen is made on the International Space Station. However, what is the meaning of electrolysis?

‘Electrolysis’ refers to the chemical decomposition of a liquid or solution containing ions by passing an electric current through it. The electrolysis of water, is the name of the process through which water is broken down into its components, that are hydrogen and oxygen.

If you think about it, the oxygen that we breathe here on Earth also comes from the splitting of water, only it’s not a mechanical process, unlike the electrolysis of water on the ISS. Plants, trees, algae, and cyanobacteria all of these organisms decompose water molecules as one of the steps in photosynthesis, which is the process that converts sunlight and water into food.

You see, water is composed of two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen. When you run a current through water, these two components separate and recombine as gaseous hydrogen and oxygen.

So, astronauts aboard the International Space Station get their oxygen from the electrolysis of water, but where does all that water come from?

Credit: NASA/ESA

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