Whether you're in your living room or thousands of miles above Earth in orbit, when the urge to pee hits you, you have to comply. But when you're in zero gravity, a simple task like going to the bathroom becomes a huge challenge.
It's disgusting to even imagine what could happen if an astronaut in space tried to use a regular toilet. So how do astronauts use a toilet in space?
Each spacecraft has a unisex toilet. Although the toilet looks like a slightly higher-tech version of a toilet on Earth, its functionality is quite different. Basically, the toilet consists of a toilet bowl that collects solid waste and a urinal that collects liquid waste.
Using a funnel that can be attached to the penis, it allows men and women to urinate in a standing or sitting position.
Astronauts need supports to prevent them from floating in the weightless environment. Floating is prevented by locking the toes and heels in the standing position, and locking the thighs in addition to the anterior regions in the sitting position.
To ensure that solid and liquid waste does not float away, the toilet uses flowing air instead of water. The air removes the waste from the astronaut's body and sends it to the appropriate bin. After being filtered to remove bacteria and odors, the air is sent back to the astronauts' cabin.
But where does all the waste go? The solid waste is dried, compressed and placed in a storage container to remove moisture. They are discarded after the spacecraft lands on Earth. Liquid waste is often released into space.
At the International Space Station, liquid waste is recycled through a special water treatment plant and turned back into drinking water. Solid waste is sent to a plastic bag. Every time someone uses the toilet, solid waste is compressed and sealed.
Toileting becomes more challenging when astronauts walk outside their spacecraft. Because getting out of their spacesuits is a complicated process, astronauts usually use super absorbent adult diapers. These diapers can easily hold about 0.94 liters of liquid. Astronauts also use adult diapers during launch and landing.
There is something to be mentioned here. In a zero gravity environment, blood circulation in the human body does not take place properly. The kidneys are sensitive to this and strongly stimulate the need to urinate within 2 hours. Because of this, the first thing astronauts do in space is the toilet system.
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