Ever felt the urge to use the restroom and it comes out to be at a cost of $23 Million? This is what NASA is gifting to its Astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS). Sadly, it’s not for me and you.
So, NASA is fully geared-up to launch a $23Million Advanced-Bathroom to the International Space Station to its onboard crew. And it’s also a test before they use similar tech for future Moon and Mars missions.
It’s scheduled to blast off on September 29th, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility situated in Virginia under the contract of Northrop Grumman with other ISS supply cargo.
The Bathroom is named Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) and it’s made 65% smaller & 40% lighter and more comfortable than other space toilets in ISS, Space.com reported on Saturday, so as to support the larger crew of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program in the near future.
This new space toilet is designed in such a way that it can be easily integrated into any rocket or Space vehicles. NASA’s goal is to reach 98% of recycling before they set off the first Mars Transport Vehicle with humans on-board.
Functioning of UWMS
The UWMS will feed pre-treated Urine into a regenerative system that will recycle the water for further use in long space missions and will just store the excreta for disposal in a short duration mission like Artemis II.
This will be very helpful to cut off the extra need to launch water into ISS. Also, a round-trip to planet Mars will take approximately 2 years and there will be no opportunity to top-off the water supply.
Plans of going beyond our planet Earth
In the space, every part of the water cycle is key for an astronaut's survival and further advances in space, technology can make a pivotal difference in mission efficiency and its success.
As NASA prepares to return humans to the Moon with Artemis and look forward to the first human mission to Mars, life support systems are going to play a major role in keeping the astronauts healthy and safe-n-sound as they live, work, and learn farther from Earth than it has been ever before by humanity.
“What we try to do aboard the space station is mimic elements of Earth’s natural water cycle to reclaim water from the air. And when it comes to our urine on ISS, today’s coffee is tomorrow's coffee. We recycle about 90% of all water-based liquids on the space station, including urine and sweat.” explains NASA’s astronaut Jessica Meir.
According to reports, Expedition-63 astronauts Chris Cassidy and Ivan Vagner would perform the space toilet’s delivery. Also, after the recycling astronauts will be able to even drink their now-processed urine.
How actually, a space toilet work?
Plans of going beyond our planet Earth
In the space, every part of the water cycle is key for an astronaut's survival and further advances in space, technology can make a pivotal difference in mission efficiency and its success.
As NASA prepares to return humans to the Moon with Artemis and look forward to the first human mission to Mars, life support systems are going to play a major role in keeping the astronauts healthy and safe-n-sound as they live, work, and learn farther from Earth than it has been ever before by humanity.
“What we try to do aboard the space station is mimic elements of Earth’s natural water cycle to reclaim water from the air. And when it comes to our urine on ISS, today’s coffee is tomorrow's coffee. We recycle about 90% of all water-based liquids on the space station, including urine and sweat.” explains NASA’s astronaut Jessica Meir.
According to reports, Expedition-63 astronauts Chris Cassidy and Ivan Vagner would perform the space toilet’s delivery. Also, after the recycling astronauts will be able to even drink their now-processed urine.
How actually, a space toilet work?
Basically in space, the main challenge is due to the lack of gravity, space toilets use airflow to pull urine and feces into proper receptacles away from the body.
In this new UWMS, when the toilet seat is lifted up, the automatic start of airflow starts which also ensures proper odor control. It is designed requiring less clean up and maintenance time with more corrosion-resistant and durable parts.
The crew would be able to use the provided funnel and a hose for urination and the seat and a funnel simultaneous usage were open to the female astronauts' feedback. A 3D-printed titanium dual-fan separator on the units was reportedly designed by the Collins Aerospace to well-ly control the airflow.
So what’s your views on this new stuff by NASA? Say it below.
Written by - Suraj Patra
Edited by - Rudransh Khurana
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