Aside from bringing tons of fresh supplies to the International Space Station and science experiments, a private spacecraft has also been commissioned to carry a new space toilet.
The mission, known as Cygnus NG-14, was launched on an Antares rocket on September 29 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The recently updated space toilet has been officially christened the Universal Waste Management System. The cargo is delivered to support the Expedition 64 crew aboard the space station.
The space toilet, which has cost 23 million dollars , was created with contributions from astronauts. It is 65% smaller and 40% lighter than the toilet currently on the space station, according to NASA officials.
It was designed to optimize “toilet use for the female crew , and NASA spent a lot of time working with crew members to improve its use,” said Melissa McKinley, Advanced Exploration Systems Logistics Reduction project manager for The NASA.
It’s smaller, more comfortable, more hygienic and easier to use , and we’re sure astronauts aboard the International Space Station will be happy to finally have a new toilet, as it hasn’t been updated since the 1990s. If you are wondering what to do with solid waste, it is stored in individual waterproof bags and compacted in a removable fecal storage container.
