How Do Space Bathrooms Work?

Using the bathroom in near-zero gravity is exactly as tricky as it sounds. Learn how space bathrooms have worked (and sometimes not worked) in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/10-moments-space-bathrooms.htm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, brain Stuff,
learn vogelbomb here. Some facts of life are universal, such
as everybody really does poop. When astronauts are orbiting hundreds
of miles above Earth's surface doing science, they still have

(00:22):
to take bathroom breaks. Of course, the mechanics of using
the toilet and disposing of the resulting waste in near
zero gravity can get a little tricky. So today, let's
take a trip down aerospace memory lane and learn about
some of the moments that have given astronauts the greatest
relief and aggravation over the years. America's historic first crude

(00:45):
space flight, undertaken by Alan B. Shepherd Junior, on May
fifth of nineteen sixty one, was only supposed to have
lasted fifteen minutes, but after weather and technical difficulties delayed
the flight for four hours, nature fitably called. With no
other option available, Shepherd was forced to urinate frighten his suit.

(01:07):
Since then, diaper type wearables modernly called maximum absorbency garments
have been used on many space missions, but once those
missions became longer, engineers had to equip spacecraft with real facilities.
NASA's Apollo program landed the first humans on the Moon,
but its missions had at least one serious design flaw

(01:28):
in its bathrooms. Urine collection was accomplished by placing a
condom like outfit over the astronaut's genitalia. The fitting attached
to a hose that released urine out of the side
of the spacecraft. The device was decidedly low tech and
could be downright painful. If the astronauts opened the valve
too soon before starting to urinate, the section would pull

(01:50):
their genitalia right into the hopes. Once the astronauts began
to urinate, the fitting would sometimes pop off, releasing a
spray of urine into the spacecraft. Considering the effects of
near zero gravity, it was a less than pleasant experience
for all on board, and defecation was even more work.
Astronauts had to tape a bag to their rear end.

(02:12):
Once they were finished, they had to open a capsule
of blue germicide in the bag and then mush everything together.
Crew Members on the Apollo seven mission wrote of the experience,
get naked, allow an hour, have plenty of tissues ready.
The bags were usually taken back to Earth for study. Later,
space toilets came equipped with a lap belt, handholds, and

(02:35):
foot restraints to ensure that astronauts didn't float away mid stream.
A fan pulled urine feces into their respective collection containers.
A filter removed any unpleasant odors, hopefully before the air
was returned to the cabin. Of course, spacecraft only have
a limited amount of room aboard, so astronauts regularly had

(02:55):
to lighten their load by releasing those collected waste products.
When urine is released out into space, it instantly freezes
into a cloud of ice crystals. The sight of the
sun hitting those droplets and transforming them into water vapor
is quite astounding, according to some observers. Apollo nine astronaut

(03:16):
Russell Schweickert once said the most beautiful sight in orbit
is a urine dump. At sunset, it instantly flashes into
ten million little ice crystals, which go out almost in
a hemisphere, a spray of sparklers. Almost. It isn't always
a semi celestial event, though. During a nineteen eighty four

(03:37):
mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery, the aircraft's wastewater venting
system failed, leading to the formation of a very large
icicle made of urine on the outside of the shuttle.
Realizing that the urine sickle might break free during re
entry and damage the protective heat tiles on the shuttle,
the crew used the shuttle's robot arm to break it off.

(03:57):
The tiles were saved, but the crew had no choice
but to shut the urine collection system down. The crisis
was averted, but the problem left the crew without a
working toilet for the rest of the six day mission,
and even when the facilities are in working order, politics
have come into play. In two thousand and nine, Russian

(04:18):
cospnot Gnaldi Padalka complained to a newspaper that he wasn't
allowed to use the bathroom on the American side of
the International Space Station, but he wasn't blaming the Americans.
He cited the cause of the closed door policy as
Russia's moved to start charging NASA for resources used by
American astronauts back in two thousand and three. The United

(04:39):
States reciprocated by asking the Russians to keep out of
its facilities. Padelka told the newspaper that the bathroom shut
out and banashment from American exercise bikes was having a
real effect on his cosmonauts morale. From what I understand.
A new more female friendly toilet sent up in twenty twenty,
is available to all, though visitors from one side to

(05:01):
the other might still do the space equivalent of a
neighborly knock first. This also applies when a toilet on
one side or the other goes on the fritz. Fixing
them on the fly literally isn't as easy as calling
a plumber back on Earth. Though new models are being
made with three D printed parts to make repairs a
bit more plug and play, these facilities are expensive to

(05:26):
develop and install. The most involved upgrade to NASA space toilets,
first announced in two thousand and eight, was an investment
of around two hundred and fifty million dollars. Its fanciest feature,
it turns urine into drinking water. This pricey water processor
not only filters water from urine, but also makes sweat

(05:47):
and moisture from hanging wet towels pottable. NASA officials say
that the converted water is cleaner than the tap water
in the US, which might say more about our infrastructure
than our urine, and that the device conserves seven tons
of water each year. In contrast, the new UNISEX toilet
cost Amere twenty three million. It's forty percent lighter, sixty

(06:10):
five percent smaller, and much more energy efficient. A NASA astronaut,
Jessica Meir said in a press release. We recycle about
ninety percent of all water based liquids on the space station,
including urinin sweat. What we try to do aboard the
space station is mimic elements of Earth's natural water cycle
to reclaim water from the air and when it comes

(06:32):
to our urine on ISS, Today's coffee is tomorrow's coffee.
Recycling will be the key to future missions that send
humans deeper into space for longer amounts of time, as
there will often be no other water sources available. Today's

(06:53):
episode is based on the article top ten Moments in
Space bathroom History on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Stephanie Watson.
Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how
Stuffworks dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Klang.
Four more podcasts my heart Radio visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.