How Do Astronauts Get Breathable Oxygen In Space (Aboard The ISS)?

Astronauts onboard the ISS get their breathable oxygen in two main ways - through systems onboard the ISS that generate breathable oxygen and through resupply missions that deliver breathable oxygen to the ISS.

There is plenty of oxygen on Earth; but things change drastically as you breach the ‘boundary’ of the sky and reach the blackness of space. Oxygen is hard to come by in space, that’s why space engineers figured out a way to provide sufficient quantities of oxygen to astronauts that head to space and stay up there for months on end. Aboard the ISS, there are two systems that provide breathable oxygen to astronauts - NASA’s ECLSS and Russia’s Elektron. These two are referred to as oxygen generators, as they provide breathable oxygen through electrolysis of water.

Check out this video for more details about ways through which astronauts get oxygen in space.