Going to the Bathroom in Space

I know this is on all of our minds most of the time. Going number 2 in zero gravity can not be an easy task.
The good people from NASA answers this question for us at spaceflight.nasa.gov.

Knowing this leaves me with one last space mystery...What happens if you sneeze in your space suit .

vote to close pointless thread

Originally posted by radagast
vote to close pointless thread

You may not be interested in it, but others may be. So there's no need for that. If you have a suggestion, take it up with a mod.

I really didn't find that video too informative though, so I found this...
How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space? It also gives some other aspects of hygeine in space.

Originally posted by Umbrax

Knowing this leaves me with one last space mystery...What happens if you sneeze in your space suit

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My guess is that it would stink.. and the mess on the face glass would have to stay there until you could find a way to clean it off.

Is it me.. or are we just posting silly stuff these days?

As I understand it, it's supposed to hit the fan!*






*At least in the original design.



[edit on 10-2-2005 by HowardRoark]

Actually, they have a training WOC. It has a camera mounted in it and a TV screen so they can learn to aim properly as they attempt to position their bum on the terlet seat. This apparently is something they have to get a "pass" on...so they learn to get a good seal before the dirty deed is done.

else...stuff like what UM just described could take place.

Errm, intresting... lol, I have wondered the same question before. Interesting video lol

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In a few decades these may become actual practical problems. Faced by many. Provided the species doesn't axe itself through stupidity.

I would think you might have a nanotech liner on the interior surfaces of the suit that would clean up organic debris. The trick would be making sure it could differentiate between the occupant and debris. Mucus with your own DNA in it would be hard to differentiate. Keeping your airways for breathing open are essential. Maybe you could create some nanotech with some simple sort of AI that could generalize between the bulk of you the occupant and extraneous debris.
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What would happen if one farted? Do you think it would stay all together in like a little invisible ballon like shape? Or would it come out in a stream like shaving cream comes out of a can? I know a droplet of H2O will remain a droplet until it comes into contact with something that has mass and it will then try to take its shape. I would bet it is a real pain in the butt to have to do one's business up there. It indeed would take a special person just to go up there.

lol, when they train you they train you to see if you have the right "projection" and "speed"

yet the male astronauts wives still complain about terrestrial seat splatter
(if you can do it in space, you can damn well do it in our ensuite)

If you sneeze in a suit there has to be something irritating your nasel passages, Of course for me if i get hit in the nose I start haveing a sneezing fit. if it really needed to be cleaned you might be able to mash your face onto the place in an attempt to wipe it off. But a better solution would be a squeege in the helemt you could grab and operate with you mouth.

But I would be more interested, and it has to have been tried. But becoming a part of the "Space high" club.

Originally posted by Jehosephat
If you sneeze in a suit there has to be something irritating your nasel passages, Of course for me if i get hit in the nose I start haveing a sneezing fit.

This whole sneeze thing has me wondering something else.. what if your nose really itches?.. you know like REALLY bad??

I think that alone could drive someone insane.. in space and no way to scratch your nose.

I remember watching a show and the NASA astronauts said you werent a real astronaut until you used the Zero-G toliet, laughing like it was some inside joke.

I also heard there is a rite of space flight is to urinate upside down.

This isn't pointless, It's important that the issue has a solution.

I wonder how tough it would be to construct a centrifugal toilet, where the
whole device (the entire bathroom) spins, until you are done with your biz?
There was a toy, when I was a kid, called the sit-n-spin..
Good name for this.

i would hope that in the future when there are long missions to other planets they would consider recycling the corn that was eaten the day before. this would be an invaluable resource for the astronauts.

Originally posted by spacedoubt
This isn't pointless, It's important that the issue has a solution.

I wonder how tough it would be to construct a centrifugal toilet, where the
whole device (the entire bathroom) spins, until you are done with your biz?
There was a toy, when I was a kid, called the sit-n-spin..
Good name for this.

I donno, I think #-n-spin just may be a more appropriate.

As for it spinning, that would probably take quite a bit of energy to do. So I doubt it would be it's own standalone complex.

one of the biggest problems about "going" in a foreign enviorment is being able to relax. I had that problem many-a-time while on long sailing trips. It is allways interesting to see how many run to the bathroom when they make port