WEBVTT - How Do Space Bathrooms Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>learn vogelbomb here. Some facts of life are universal, such

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<v Speaker 1>as everybody really does poop. When astronauts are orbiting hundreds

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<v Speaker 1>of miles above Earth's surface doing science, they still have

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<v Speaker 1>to take bathroom breaks. Of course, the mechanics of using

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<v Speaker 1>the toilet and disposing of the resulting waste in near

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<v Speaker 1>zero gravity can get a little tricky. So today, let's

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<v Speaker 1>take a trip down aerospace memory lane and learn about

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<v Speaker 1>some of the moments that have given astronauts the greatest

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<v Speaker 1>relief and aggravation over the years. America's historic first crude

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<v Speaker 1>space flight, undertaken by Alan B. Shepherd Junior, on May

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<v Speaker 1>fifth of nineteen sixty one, was only supposed to have

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<v Speaker 1>lasted fifteen minutes, but after weather and technical difficulties delayed

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<v Speaker 1>the flight for four hours, nature fitably called. With no

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<v Speaker 1>other option available, Shepherd was forced to urinate frighten his suit.

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<v Speaker 1>Since then, diaper type wearables modernly called maximum absorbency garments

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<v Speaker 1>have been used on many space missions, but once those

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<v Speaker 1>missions became longer, engineers had to equip spacecraft with real facilities.

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<v Speaker 1>NASA's Apollo program landed the first humans on the Moon,

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<v Speaker 1>but its missions had at least one serious design flaw

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<v Speaker 1>in its bathrooms. Urine collection was accomplished by placing a

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<v Speaker 1>condom like outfit over the astronaut's genitalia. The fitting attached

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<v Speaker 1>to a hose that released urine out of the side

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<v Speaker 1>of the spacecraft. The device was decidedly low tech and

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<v Speaker 1>could be downright painful. If the astronauts opened the valve

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<v Speaker 1>too soon before starting to urinate, the section would pull

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<v Speaker 1>their genitalia right into the hopes. Once the astronauts began

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<v Speaker 1>to urinate, the fitting would sometimes pop off, releasing a

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<v Speaker 1>spray of urine into the spacecraft. Considering the effects of

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<v Speaker 1>near zero gravity, it was a less than pleasant experience

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<v Speaker 1>for all on board, and defecation was even more work.

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<v Speaker 1>Astronauts had to tape a bag to their rear end.

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<v Speaker 1>Once they were finished, they had to open a capsule

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<v Speaker 1>of blue germicide in the bag and then mush everything together.

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<v Speaker 1>Crew Members on the Apollo seven mission wrote of the experience,

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<v Speaker 1>get naked, allow an hour, have plenty of tissues ready.

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<v Speaker 1>The bags were usually taken back to Earth for study. Later,

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<v Speaker 1>space toilets came equipped with a lap belt, handholds, and

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<v Speaker 1>foot restraints to ensure that astronauts didn't float away mid stream.

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<v Speaker 1>A fan pulled urine feces into their respective collection containers.

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<v Speaker 1>A filter removed any unpleasant odors, hopefully before the air

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<v Speaker 1>was returned to the cabin. Of course, spacecraft only have

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<v Speaker 1>a limited amount of room aboard, so astronauts regularly had

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<v Speaker 1>to lighten their load by releasing those collected waste products.

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<v Speaker 1>When urine is released out into space, it instantly freezes

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<v Speaker 1>into a cloud of ice crystals. The sight of the

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<v Speaker 1>sun hitting those droplets and transforming them into water vapor

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<v Speaker 1>is quite astounding, according to some observers. Apollo nine astronaut

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<v Speaker 1>Russell Schweickert once said the most beautiful sight in orbit

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<v Speaker 1>is a urine dump. At sunset, it instantly flashes into

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<v Speaker 1>ten million little ice crystals, which go out almost in

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<v Speaker 1>a hemisphere, a spray of sparklers. Almost. It isn't always

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<v Speaker 1>a semi celestial event, though. During a nineteen eighty four

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<v Speaker 1>mission on the Space Shuttle Discovery, the aircraft's wastewater venting

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<v Speaker 1>system failed, leading to the formation of a very large

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<v Speaker 1>icicle made of urine on the outside of the shuttle.

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<v Speaker 1>Realizing that the urine sickle might break free during re

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<v Speaker 1>entry and damage the protective heat tiles on the shuttle,

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<v Speaker 1>the crew used the shuttle's robot arm to break it off.

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<v Speaker 1>The tiles were saved, but the crew had no choice

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<v Speaker 1>but to shut the urine collection system down. The crisis

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<v Speaker 1>was averted, but the problem left the crew without a

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<v Speaker 1>working toilet for the rest of the six day mission,

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<v Speaker 1>and even when the facilities are in working order, politics

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<v Speaker 1>have come into play. In two thousand and nine, Russian

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<v Speaker 1>cospnot Gnaldi Padalka complained to a newspaper that he wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>allowed to use the bathroom on the American side of

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<v Speaker 1>the International Space Station, but he wasn't blaming the Americans.

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<v Speaker 1>He cited the cause of the closed door policy as

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<v Speaker 1>Russia's moved to start charging NASA for resources used by

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<v Speaker 1>American astronauts back in two thousand and three. The United

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<v Speaker 1>States reciprocated by asking the Russians to keep out of

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<v Speaker 1>its facilities. Padelka told the newspaper that the bathroom shut

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<v Speaker 1>out and banashment from American exercise bikes was having a

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<v Speaker 1>real effect on his cosmonauts morale. From what I understand.

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<v Speaker 1>A new more female friendly toilet sent up in twenty twenty,

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<v Speaker 1>is available to all, though visitors from one side to

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<v Speaker 1>the other might still do the space equivalent of a

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<v Speaker 1>neighborly knock first. This also applies when a toilet on

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<v Speaker 1>one side or the other goes on the fritz. Fixing

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<v Speaker 1>them on the fly literally isn't as easy as calling

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<v Speaker 1>a plumber back on Earth. Though new models are being

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<v Speaker 1>made with three D printed parts to make repairs a

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<v Speaker 1>bit more plug and play, these facilities are expensive to

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<v Speaker 1>develop and install. The most involved upgrade to NASA space toilets,

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<v Speaker 1>first announced in two thousand and eight, was an investment

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<v Speaker 1>of around two hundred and fifty million dollars. Its fanciest feature,

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<v Speaker 1>it turns urine into drinking water. This pricey water processor

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<v Speaker 1>not only filters water from urine, but also makes sweat

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<v Speaker 1>and moisture from hanging wet towels pottable. NASA officials say

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<v Speaker 1>that the converted water is cleaner than the tap water

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<v Speaker 1>in the US, which might say more about our infrastructure

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<v Speaker 1>than our urine, and that the device conserves seven tons

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<v Speaker 1>of water each year. In contrast, the new UNISEX toilet

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<v Speaker 1>cost Amere twenty three million. It's forty percent lighter, sixty

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<v Speaker 1>five percent smaller, and much more energy efficient. A NASA astronaut,

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<v Speaker 1>Jessica Meir said in a press release. We recycle about

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<v Speaker 1>ninety percent of all water based liquids on the space station,

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<v Speaker 1>including urinin sweat. What we try to do aboard the

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<v Speaker 1>space station is mimic elements of Earth's natural water cycle

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<v Speaker 1>to reclaim water from the air and when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to our urine on ISS, Today's coffee is tomorrow's coffee.

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<v Speaker 1>Recycling will be the key to future missions that send

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<v Speaker 1>humans deeper into space for longer amounts of time, as

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<v Speaker 1>there will often be no other water sources available. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on the article top ten Moments in

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<v Speaker 1>Space bathroom History on HowStuffWorks dot com, written by Stephanie Watson.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuffworks dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Klang.

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