How do you go to the Toilet in
In space, going to the toilet is far more complex than on Earth, because there is no gravity it makes things a lot more trickier.
You have to buckle up when you are using the toilet to prevent you from floating away. This must be done by using the foot and thigh restraints (like a rollercoaster!).
For liquid waste you must the funnel, both men and women use the funnel, its just a matter of changing cups. Also both sexes can use this standing up, but there is an option to sit down. The funnel uses strong suction to capture any liquid. This liqud is then filter through multiple water systems and returned to drinking water.
On NASA’s Apollo mission Astronauts had to go to the bathroom using a condom like outfit that went over their most sensitive parts. The fitting attached to a hose that released urine out the side of the ship. If the astronauts released the valve too soon then the suction would pull their genatalia right into the hose, which would cause great pain. Also often the fitting would pop o spraying urine into the cabin, which would damage equipment and not be a very nice experience for anyone.
With the hole for waste being only 10 cm wide, astronauts must spend hours training on Earth to position themselves correctly that not waste escapes. For training they use a camera that is fitting within the toilet bowl to see where they position themselves.
Instead of water, this toilet uses air to suck any waste out of the user as there is no gravity to do the work. A fan within the toilet then uses centrifugal force to seperate the air and waste. The air is then filter for bacteria and odor which is then returned into cabin, whereas the solid waste is stored in a seperate area of the ship. This seperate section is either emptied once the ship has returned to Earth or is fired o into space.
During a space walk, if nature calls, astronauts must use a super-absorbent adult diapers which are disposed of by drying out the waste to prevent odor and stored with the rest of the solid waste until disposal.
And if anything goes wrong, pray for a napkin.
David Guthrie and James Musson