2007-08-10 00:41:08 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The arrangments for toilet facilities in space have developed quite a bit over the years. One thing they do have in common, though, is a diet that is specially devised to produce very little solid waste.
In the early Project Mercury flights the astronaut was only up for a few hours. Generally on those flights urination was the only concern, and they had a special bag that strapped around their waist and down one leg into which they could urinate. The bag would then be sealed and detahced when they got back to Earth (and very probably some of it would be taken off for testing in a lab!).
For Project Gemini and Project Apollo the facilities were a little better. For launch the astronauts still wore a urine collection device inside their spacesuits. Later in the flight they had two systems for dealing with waste. For urination they had a hose with a condom-like attachment they could roll over the penis and effectively pee straight into space. For solid waste things were a bit less pleasant. They had a special 'blue bag'. This bag had a ring of sticky tape around the end with which the astronaut would stick the bag to his backside. He would then do what he had to do, but of course in zero gravity it won't fall away. To get round this the bag had special shaped sections so he could use his fingers to grab the waste and pull it away from him and the end of the bag. He would thenremove the bag and seal it quickly. As if that was not bad enough, he would then squeeze the bag to burst a section that contained a germicidal fluid, then he would have to sqish it around so that the fluid got through the whole contents of the bag, and then the bag would be stowed in the spacecraft for return to Earth and disposal once they get back. On Apollo 8 they discovered the limitations of this system when one of the crew suffered a bad reaction to a sleeping tablet and suffered diarrhoea as a result. I'll leave that to your imagination....
Now, on the shuttle and ISS, there is a space toilet. For one thing, female astronauts meant that the hose atachment was no good. For another the bag method is pretty foul. The space toilet is basically a toilet pan with a bar across it to hold the astronaut in place, with a constant flow of air down the pan to carry everything down into the toilet rather than allowing it to float freely about the cabin. Inside the toilet the solid waste is separated and compacted to be returned to Earth, the liquid is ejected into space, and the air is passed through several filters to take the smell away.
2007-08-10 01:27:07 · answer #1 · answered by Jason T 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They only wear diapers for the launch. Once they are in space, there is a device that provides a little suction that they use when they need to. Since at launch, they are strapped in and gravity is a little too high for the suction to overcome, they have to wear diapers. They don't call them that though.
2007-08-10 00:59:38 · answer #2 · answered by SteveA8 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They wear a diaper that absorbs [ich] all that crap.
Have you ever seen a baby look serious,turn red across the eyebrows then relax.
This is the sequence an astronaut goes through.
He usually hides in a corner. Honest!
2007-08-10 00:52:00 · answer #3 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
They use a sort of vacuum cleanser - for adult adult males it relatively is especially straight forward - the females might desire to develop slightly greater attachment to the astrocommode. interior the previous days till now "area stations" they only used catheters and diaper/bags - and occasional residue diets to shrink the solids.
2016-11-11 22:35:50 · answer #4 · answered by dugas 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well from those news reports about that crazy astronaut lady, it sounds as though they were diapers when they are in space.
2007-08-10 00:52:24 · answer #5 · answered by lastcaress21 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
they wear these special types of underwear that allows them to releve themselves while wearing them. its like a high tech diaper. this way, if they are in the vaccum of space and they gotta piss, well.....you wouldnt see them trying to unzip.
2007-08-10 01:38:56 · answer #6 · answered by kaelen i 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They have a special diet which contains minimum fibre.
2007-08-10 01:08:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
They do it in plastic bags, very carefully.
2007-08-12 15:54:12 · answer #8 · answered by johnandeileen2000 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they simply fly to the toilet and attach themselves to the toilet seat by strapes
2007-08-10 02:51:33 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
astronauts don't go to bathroom .... they take a diet which does not make them to go to bathroom.. they take energy tablets
2007-08-10 00:47:07 · answer #10 · answered by ----Z----> 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋