[ad_1]
This unusual-looking space toilet will be tested by the ISS astronauts.
POT
A newly designed space bathroom that is better suited for women is heading to the International Space Station. The new toilet is inside a cargo ship that will take off Thursday night from Wallops Island, Virginia, according to The Guardian on Thursday. Astronauts will test it for the next several months.
Weighing nearly 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and standing 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is about half the size of the two Russian-built toilets already in use on the space station. This new toilet is 65% smaller and almost half lighter than current ISS toilets in use.
The new smaller size will be able to fit NASA’s Orion capsules, which will travel to the moon on future missions.
As previously reported, the new toilet is designed with a sloping seat, a new shape, and redesigned urination funnels to better fit female astronauts.
Here’s a closer look at the new space toilet to be used on the ISS.
POT
The microgravity toilets used in the ISS use suction to prevent debris from escaping during a bathroom break in space, but the new system is reshaped to better fit the female anatomy. The toilet is also better suited to capture more waste than before.
“Cleaning up a mess is a big deal. We don’t want failures or leaks,” Johnson Space Center project manager Melissa McKinley told the Guardian. “Let’s say that everything floats in weightlessness.”
The new toilet system also has a lower mass than previous systems, is easier to use, provides greater comfort and performance to the crew, and treats urine so that it can be safely processed by the ship’s recycling systems. space, “according to a NASA report previously released in June.
The new toilet will be placed in its own cubicle next to the old one on the US side of the space station. The toilet that is currently on the US side of the space station was designed in the 1990s.
This new Universal Waste Management System toilet will remain on ISS until the end of the space station’s useful life.
What life is like on the International Space Station (photos)
See all photos
