Do you know what is the first thing an astronaut does when he travels to space? That’s it, pee. In fact, the space toilet is the first device to activate, right after the astronauts unbuckle their seat belts. This is so because the absence of gravity causes the fluids to be distributed evenly around their bodies: the kidneys detect the movement of these fluids and a physiological reaction is activated that forces the astronauts to go to the bathroom within two hours after the launch.
If there is one thing that has not changed much since the Apollo missions to the Moon, it is the space toilets. The first men who stepped on our satellite had the bags with their natural debris attached to their backs, just like the other astronauts who followed them. That is why there are 96 bags of urine, feces and vomit on our satellite that future space tourists will have to be careful not to step on. Or they may end up becoming historical remains, on the same level as what was left on our planet from the Apollo 11 lander.
To pee and poop on the International Space Station, astronauts must train on the ground. The first is done with a kind of hose-condom that has a different shape, whether it is a man or a woman who uses it. From there it is pumped to a special device, where it is recycled and used as water: the astronauts drink their own pee.
To make larger waters a kind of plastic bag with a narrow entrance is used, so you have to aim well. That is why during their training they pretend to do it in a fake toilet and a camera placed at the bottom of it tells them if they are properly aligned …
From the toilet, the poop is stored in aluminum containers, but there are some scientists who have found an important use for it: if we plastered the walls of the space station on the outside, it will serve as a shield against dangerous cosmic radiation.
Either way, the best solution is not to have to go to the bathroom or go as little as possible; a pipeline principle solution. So the astronauts’ diet is usually high-protein food that leaves little residue.
