Former International Space Station commander Suni Williams has lifted the lid on how astronauts go to the toilet in space.
Captain Williams holds the record for the longest space flight by a woman at 195 days. She says the toilet has different colored containers for number one, and number two.
Pointing out the place for number two, she says, "You see it's pretty small and you have to have pretty good aim, and be ready to make sure things get let go in the right direction."
The units for both liquid and solid wastes have suction "to keep things going in the right direction."
She also shared that there's a selection of paper to choose from, including a soft kind for U.S. astronauts and a coarser, rough variety preferred by the Russians.
She says the crew are provided with gloves, diapers and disinfectant wipes, "in case things really get out of control," and adds that "The number one stuff can get really all over the place if you don't aim correctly."
** By the way, current space station commander Chris Hadfield revealed that astronauts on space walks use special 'absorbent undergarments' if overcome by a call of nature during a space walk.
-AJ
Comments