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Thunderbox, porcelain throne, toilet or dunny; Whatever you call the smallest room in the house, it’s unlikely you’ve spent as much time thinking about how to use it as NASA has.
The US space agency sent its latest addition to the International Space Station, a toilet that looks more like a torture device than a place where he would spend Sunday morning reading the sports pages. NASA hopes to eventually have models of the toilet on the moon.
Norah Moran / NASA
Astronaut Kate Rubins, center and support staff, check out the Universal Waste Management System, a low-gravity space toilet, in Houston. The new device was delivered to the International Space Station on October 1.
Designed to help astronauts deliver a very different type of payload in space, the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) cost $ 23 million (NZ $ 34.5 million) and was brought to the station for a tasting on October 1, along with 10 bottles of Estee Lauder Perfume, some cheese, and a salami. So, just the essentials.
In a statement, the agency said the first redesign of the space peatlands in 30 years recognized that “the most basic human biological processes become challenging off-planet due in part to a lack of gravity.” From the looks of the gadget, they don’t get easier with help.
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Created by Collins Aerospace, the space lav mk2 is made from titanium, less than half the size of mk1, can be easily installed on any spacecraft or life support system, and perhaps most importantly, it was designed with astronauts in mind.
In fact, according to an AMA of the designers, all of the agency’s astronauts were asked to contribute significantly to the design of the new restroom and the astronauts had something to say about the urine hose in particular.
So how does it work? Well, there is no gravity, so there are hand and foot grips that replace the awkward thigh strap system of the toilet, a hose for liquids, and a “seat”, a small, round, pointed hole, for solids.
Toilets “use airflow,” which is suction for 12-year-olds laughing in the back row, to deal with odors and flush waste from the body quickly.
Everything is stored in a small cubicle, for privacy.
According to the NASA statement, the space station recycles 90 percent of all water-based liquids, including urine and sweat.
“When it comes to our urine on the ISS, today’s coffee is tomorrow’s coffee,” wrote NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.
That’s a lovely feature of space travel they left out Star Wars… wonder why?
Joking aside, unlike many other space developments like velcro and backwards writing pens, you are unlikely to see suction losses for terrestrial toilets anytime soon. But the tremendous cost of UWMS serves one purpose for all of humanity: it brings humanity closer to our next great leap: a mission to Mars.
“Life support systems will play an important role in keeping our astronauts healthy and safe as they live, work and learn further from Earth than ever before,” NASA wrote.
It is good to know that the first to reach the red planet will bravely go hygienically and without odors along the way.
