The POT announced this Wednesday that the mission toilet Artemis II again it works, but its many problems since launch day show that the space race has not solved an earthly problem: how to relieve itself and stay healthy in an environment where gravity is not helpful and fluids float.
The Orion ship’s toilet has had difficulties with the wastewater disposal system, particularly in the urine part, with suspected ice build-up in the main wastewater vent line, strange odors and other incidents leading to its closure several times.
In fact, the Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen He told mission control that when he opened the bathroom area, “the rest of the crew could smell it right away.”
This toilet is not just any piece, as it is part of the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), a new generation system developed by NASA with an investment of 23 million dollars.
1/8 | Artemis II leaves the dark side of the Moon: photos from the ship. NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft regained contact with Earth this Monday after spending about 40 minutes in absolute silence while flying over the far side of the Moon, a common interruption in this type of mission. – The Associated Press
The challenge of going to the bathroom without gravity
On Earth, weight helps fluids and debris move down, but in a microgravity environment, like on the Orion spacecraft, that task depends on fans, suction, funnels, hoses, gas and liquid separators, and sealed containers.
When one of these parts fails, the problem is not only logistical, it also affects the hygiene of the ship, the morale of the crew and, on long missions, operational safety.
NASA itself has used the space station as a test bed for the UWMS and has acknowledged reliability problems in orbit in recent years.
Even so, there has been progress, since during the Mercury, Gemini and part of Apollo programs, the astronauts did not have a bathroom as such.
For urine they used rudimentary devices and, for solid waste, adhesive bags that had to be placed directly on the body.
The astronaut experience
In an Apollo medical report, one astronaut described the defecation process as “a total disaster” and “the only part of the mission that made him feel like a savage.”
The same document indicates that the procedure could take about 45 minutes and that applying the bag was very difficult in microgravity.
During the Apollo 10 mission in 1969, one of the most unusual episodes in space history showed how precarious the health systems of the time were.
According to the official transcript released by NASA, Commander Thomas Stafford suddenly exclaimed: “Give me a napkin quickly. There’s excrement floating in the air.”
Shortly afterward, command module pilot John Young responded, “I didn’t do it. It’s not mine,” while lunar module pilot Eugene Cernan added, “I don’t think it’s mine.”
On Earth it could give rise to scatological humor, but in space astronauts describe it as a big problem.
With the Skylab missions (1973-1974), the space shuttle and the space station, technology progressed, but complications did not disappear.
Astronaut David Wolf said that part of his training as a replacement for the Russian Mir station consisted of learning how to use the toilet and “not always successfully.”
During the shuttle era, William McArthur related that, during one mission, the sanitary system was flooded after an operation to purge water and air from the vehicle.
“It came out like a gallon of sewage,” he recalled, comparing the smell to that of old school bathrooms where someone had urinated on a hot radiator.
These difficulties can affect the health of astronauts, since a NASA compendium on human adaptation to space indicates that, until December 2020, 43 episodes of kidney stones had been recorded in crew members and cargo specialists at different stages, both before and after flying.
There have also been cases of sepsis due to urinary and kidney infections.
The same document warns that dehydration is also common during missions, which aggravates the risk.