How Do Space Bathrooms Work?

zero gravity can get a little tricky. So today, let's take a trip down aerospace memory lane and learn about some of the moments that have given astronauts the greatest relief and aggravation over the years. America's historic first crude space flight, undertaken by Alan B. Shepherd Junior, on May fifth of nineteen sixty one, was only supposed to have lasted fifteen minutes, but after weather and technical difficulties delayed

the flight for four hours, nature fitably called. With no other option available, Shepherd was forced to urinate frighten his suit. Since then, diaper type wearables modernly called maximum absorbency garments have been used on many space missions, but once those missions became longer, engineers had to equip spacecraft with real facilities. NASA's Apollo program landed the first humans on the Moon, but its missions had at least one serious design flaw

in its bathrooms. Urine collection was accomplished by placing a condom like outfit over the astronaut's genitalia. The fitting attached to a hose that released urine out of the side of the spacecraft. The device was decidedly low tech and could be downright painful. If the astronauts opened the valve too soon before starting to urinate, the section would pull their genitalia right into the hopes. Once the astronauts began to urinate, the fitting would sometimes pop off, releasing a

spray of urine into the spacecraft. Considering the effects of near zero gravity, it was a less than pleasant experience for all on board, and defecation was even more work. Astronauts had to tape a bag to their rear end. Once they were finished, they had to open a capsule of blue germicide in the bag and then mush everything together. Crew Members on the Apollo seven mission wrote of the experience, get naked, allow an hour, have plenty of tissues ready.

The bags were usually taken back to Earth for study. Later, space toilets came equipped with a lap belt, handholds, and foot restraints to ensure that astronauts didn't float away mid stream. A fan pulled urine feces into their respective collection containers. A filter removed any unpleasant odors, hopefully before the air

was returned to the cabin. Of course, spacecraft only have a limited amount of room aboard, so astronauts regularly had to lighten their load by releasing those collected waste products. When urine is released out into space, it instantly freezes into a cloud of ice crystals. The sight of the sun hitting those droplets and transforming them into water vapor is quite astounding, according to some observers. Apollo nine astronaut Russell Schweickert once said the most beautiful sight in orbit

is a urine dump. At sunset, it instantly flashes into ten million little ice crystals, which go out almost in a hemisphere, a spray of sparklers. Almost. It isn't always a semi celestial event, though. During a nineteen eighty four mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery, the aircraft's wastewater venting system failed, leading to the formation of a very large icicle made of urine on the outside of the shuttle.

Realizing that the urine sickle might break free during re entry and damage the protective heat tiles on the shuttle, the crew used the shuttle's robot arm to break it off. The tiles were saved, but the crew had no choice but to shut the urine collection system down. The crisis was averted, but the problem left the crew without a working toilet for the rest of the six day mission, and even when the facilities are in working order, politics

have come into play. In two thousand and nine, Russian cospnot Gnaldi Padalka complained to a newspaper that he wasn't allowed to use the bathroom on the American side of the International Space Station, but he wasn't blaming the Americans. He cited the cause of the closed door policy as Russia's moved to start charging NASA for resources used by American astronauts back in two thousand and three. The United States reciprocated by asking the Russians to keep out of

its facilities. Padelka told the newspaper that the bathroom shut out and banashment from American exercise bikes was having a real effect on his cosmonauts morale. From what I understand. A new more female friendly toilet sent up in twenty twenty, is available to all, though visitors from one side to the other might still do the space equivalent of a neighborly knock first. This also applies when a toilet on

one side or the other goes on the fritz. Fixing them on the fly literally isn't as easy as calling a plumber back on Earth. Though new models are being made with three D printed parts to make repairs a bit more plug and play, these facilities are expensive to develop and install. The most involved upgrade to NASA space toilets, first announced in two thousand and eight, was an investment of around two hundred and fifty million dollars. Its fanciest feature,

it turns urine into drinking water. This pricey water processor not only filters water from urine, but also makes sweat and moisture from hanging wet towels pottable. NASA officials say that the converted water is cleaner than the tap water in the US, which might say more about our infrastructure than our urine, and that the device conserves seven tons of water each year. In contrast, the new UNISEX toilet cost Amere twenty three million. It's forty percent lighter, sixty

five percent smaller, and much more energy efficient. A NASA astronaut, Jessica Meir said in a press release. We recycle about ninety percent of all water based liquids on the space station, including urinin sweat. What we try to do aboard the space station is mimic elements of Earth's natural water cycle to reclaim water from the air and when it comes to our urine on ISS, Today's coffee is tomorrow's coffee.

Recycling will be the key to future missions that send humans deeper into space for longer amounts of time, as there will often be no other water sources available. Today's episode is based on the article top ten Moments in Space bathroom History on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Stephanie Watson. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Klang.

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