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The way our human ancestors left behind paraphernalia like their tools for us to learn about them, our successors will likely inherit a ton of trash on this planet from modern humans. Granted, we won’t be making the best of impressions. But that’s just who we are, we leave garbage everywhere we go — including the <keyword id="19899207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="moon" source="keywords">Moon</keyword>.<br /><br />Believe it or not, scattered across the lunar terrain are not just American flags, science equipment, and astronaut boot prints, but also... bags of poop. Yes, you read that right! During the six <keyword id="21390038" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apollo-missions" source="keywords">Apollo missions</keyword> that landed on the moon between 1969 and 1972, astronauts left behind a combined total of 96 bags filled with their urine, faeces and other <keyword id="23199695" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-waste" source="keywords">human waste</keyword>.<br /><br />Why, you ask? The decision was purely “practical”!<br /><h2>The poo bags paradox</h2>Space missions have strict weight limits, and every pound counted when it came to safely blasting off from the <keyword id="20381887" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lunar-surface" source="keywords">lunar surface</keyword>. So instead of lugging their waste back to Earth, astronauts left it behind in favour of bringing home priceless lunar rock samples and scientific data. In fact, alongside human waste, they also left equipment like cameras, boots, and even golf balls from Alan Shepard’s famous moon swing in 1971.<br /><br />The thrash left behind by <keyword id="2278063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="apollo-astronauts" source="Orion">Apollo astronauts</keyword> on the Moon is frozen in vacuum-packed bags, and the question of whether it will survive is scientifically intriguing. The Moon’s environment is extremely hostile to life as we know it. As it has no atmosphere, there’s no protection against harmful radiation from the sun, and the temperatures fluctuate drastically from +120°C to -133°C throughout the day.<br /><br />These conditions make it highly unlikely that any Earth-based microbes could survive, let alone thrive, on the lunar surface. But some scientists disagree!<br />  <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111772552" title="Newly discovered Moon caves could shelter astronauts as they set up lunar bases!" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br /><h2>Microbes’ journey to the Moon<br /></h2>Despite these harsh conditions, some scientists believe the <keyword id="19911016" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bacteria" source="keywords">bacteria</keyword> in the poop may have survived. Some forms of bacteria are known to be extremely resilient and can potentially endure harsh environments. <br /><br />While it's a very slim possibility, “the introduction of terrestrial substances onto the moon or other celestial bodies could, permanently, jeopardize the existence of possible indigenous lifeforms,” says Hugo Lopez, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, in a 2020 study titled, “The Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites on the Moon: The Poo Bags Paradox”.<br /><br />Another theory is that, in the vacuum-packed bags, with no oxygen, moisture, or atmospheric pressure, the bacterial organisms might have entered a state of dormancy. In this state, they could theoretically be "revived" if reintroduced to more favourable conditions, such as Earth's environment or inside a lab for study.<br /><h2>A long-standing question<br /></h2>The survival of bacteria in these bags could provide important insights into the long-standing question ‘how microorganisms endure in space?”, which is crucial for understanding the potential of life on other planets and ensuring safety of humans on long-term space missions. However, it's also possible that the high radiation levels on the moon have killed off any remaining life forms in the waste, as radiation can damage DNA over time.<br /><br />For now, Mark Lupisella, a manager at <keyword id="19935155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NASA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NASA">NASA</keyword>’s Goddard Space Flight Center, has suggested a robotic mission to collect samples from the waste bags left at an Apollo landing site. The goal would be to study whether the microbes inside the bags have survived or spread in the lunar environment, a discovery that could provide essential insights for future <keyword id="19929542" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-exploration" source="keywords">space exploration</keyword>. <br /><br />Until then, whether the poop survives on the Moon is still an open question, but it offers an exciting opportunity for scientists to study the limits of microbial life and the conditions for survival beyond Earth!<br /><br />Though it’s an amusing thought that human waste is among our first interplanetary "artefacts," these remnants are part of an enduring legacy of exploration — and leaving trash everywhere.<br />  <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111455720" title="ISRO&amp;#39;s Chandrayaan-3 moon mission continues to uncover lunar treasures at Shiv Shakti point" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br />

Lunar loo: Did Apollo astronauts' 96 bags of poop and urine seed the Moon with life?

R-rated biographical drama "<keyword id="320440" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oppenheimer" source="Orion">Oppenheimer</keyword>" dominated the 96th edition of the <keyword id="6376611" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oscars" source="Orion">Oscars</keyword>, winning seven awards out of 13 nominations including top honours of best picture and director for <keyword id="127480" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="christopher-nolan" source="Orion">Christopher Nolan</keyword>, his first. It was also a night of firsts for other members of the "Oppenheimer" team with Cillian Murphy (best actor), Robert Downey Jr (best supporting actor), Hoyte van Hoytema (best cinematography), and Jennifer Lame (best film editing) bagging their maiden Oscars. <br /><br />The Academy Award for best actress went to <keyword id="231394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emma-stone" source="Orion">Emma Stone</keyword> for "Poor Things" as she bested frontrunner Lily Gladstone of "Killers of the Flower Moon". This is Stone's second best actress Oscar after her 2017 win for "La La Land". <br /><br />Here's the complete list of winners: <br /><br />Best Picture: "Oppenheimer", Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan <br /><br />Best Director: Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer" <br /><br />Best Actor: Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer" <br /><br />Best Actress: Emma Stone, "Poor Things" <br /><br />Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer" <br /><br />Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers" <br /><br />Best International Feature Film: "The Zone of Interest" (United Kingdom) <br /><br />Best Original Screenplay: "Anatomy of a Fall", Justine Triet and Arthur Harari <br /><br />Best Adapted Screenplay: "American Fiction", Cord Jefferson <br /><br />Best Documentary Short Film: "The Last Repair Shop" <br /><br />Best Documentary Feature: "20 Days in Mariupol" <br /><br />Best Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema, "Oppenheimer" <br /><br />Best Live Action Short Film: "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" <br /><br />Best Animated Short Film: "WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John &amp; Yoko" <br /><br />Best Animated Film: "The Boy and the Heron" <br /><br />Best Makeup and Hairstyling: "Poor Things", Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston <br /><br />Best Production Design: "Poor Things", James Price, Shona Heath and Zsuzsa Mihalek <br /><br />Best Costume Design: "Poor Things", Holly Waddington <br /><br />Best Visual Effects: "Godzilla Minus One" <br /><br />Best Film Editing: "Oppenheimer", Jennifer Lame <br /><br />Best Sound: "The Zone of Interest", Tarn Willers, Johnnie Burn <br /><br />Best Original Score: Ludwig Goransson, "Oppenheimer" <br /><br />Best Original Song: Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell, "What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie"

Oscars 2024: Complete list of winners at 96th Academy Awards

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hollywood legend <keyword id="1677759" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cicely-Tyson">Cicely Tyson</keyword> has died at age 96, according to multiple outlets. </li><li>Tyson's career in theater, film, and television spanned more than 70 years. </li></ul><p>Famed Hollywood actress Cicely Tyson has died at age 96, according to a statement from her manager. </p><p>"I have managed Miss Tyson's career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing," Tyson's <a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/cicely-tyson-dead-dies-1234895188/">manager Larry Thompson said in a statement to Variety</a>. "Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree."</p><p>Tyson published a memoir, titled "Just as I Am," at the beginning of 2021. A rare acting icon with a career that spanned more than 70 years, Tyson will be remembered as one of the Hollywood greats.</p><h2>From modeling to a theater career in the 1950s and '60s</h2><div type="image" title="Cicely Tyson AP Images 1" height="1499" width="1999" msid="80543625" hostid="261"></div><p>Cicely Tyson was born in New York City on December 19, 1924. Her parents had immigrated to the United States from Nevis, one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. Tyson's mother, Theodosia, cleaned houses in the Bronx while her father worked as a carpenter and painter. </p><p>"If you're raised in poverty, you know what it is to want a piece of bread," Tyson told The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/01/archives/cicely-the-looker-from-sounder-cicely-the-looker.html">in a 1972 interview.</a> "When I was 9 years old, I was selling shopping bags on the street. I know what it is to be with out. My parents did every thing they could to make things meet, but they were still on welfare."</p><p>After graduating high school, Tyson first worked as a secretary at a Red Cross office in New York City. But one day she quit her job and decided to pursue a modeling career. </p><p>But modeling was a short-lived gig for Tyson, too. Soon she decided it was time to pursue acting, and she bounced from a Harlem theater production to a 1961 Off-Broadway show titled "The Blacks." That production costarred  James Earl Jones ("Star Wars," "Coming to America," "The Lion King"), and Louis Gossett, Jr. ("An Officer and a Gentleman," "Watchmen") and more, and led to Tyson's first acting award: the Vernon Rice Award in 1962. </p><p>In both "The Blacks" and her subsequent theater gig, "Moon on a Rainbow Shawl," Tyson played sex workers. Though the roles were earning her awards, Tyson said no to the next part she was offered that involved prostitution because she didn't want to be typecast. </p><h2>Tyson's launched a prolific TV and movie career in the '60s</h2><div type="image" title="Cicely Tyson AP Images 2" height="1499" width="1999" msid="80543629" hostid="261"></div><p>In 1963, Tyson was cast as a series regular on a TV show called "East Side, West Side," where she played a secretary. It was one of the first times a Black actor had landed a regular role on television. </p><p>Then came her role in the 1972 movie "Sounder," in which Tyson played the matriarch in a family of Black sharecroppers. In an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/01/archives/cicely-the-looker-from-sounder-cicely-the-looker.html">interview with the New York Times</a>, Tyson made it clear that she wanted to prioritize roles that showed the full lived experiences of Black Americans.</p><p>"Okay, so we have prostitutes and pimps and con men and pushers, the way they show in those movies, but we also have mothers and fathers and doctors and lawyers and teachers and politicians," Tyson said. "A Black doctor was responsible for the first open heart surgery, and a black guy developed traffic lights, and little is known about that."</p><p>"We have contributed a great deal to this country, but what's being projected is a very negative image, and not necessarily a projec tion of the truth," she continued. "I stopped going to see those blaxploitation films ... I just couldn't stand them."</p><div type="image" title="cicely tyson" height="900" width="1200" msid="80543633" hostid="261"></div><p>In that interview, The Times reporter mentions that Oscar buzz had begun for her role in "Sounder." </p><p>"It would be nice," she says, smiling, "but I'm realistic. If happens, I'll be very surprised. Hattie McDaniel won for a supporting role in 'Gone With the Wind,' but she's the only Black woman who's ever won."</p><p>Tyson was indeed nominated for her performance as Rebecca in "Sounder." But that year Liza Minellelli won best actress for "Cabaret," and Tyson had to wait until she was 94 years old to receive an honorary Oscar at the 2018 Academy Awards.</p><p>In 1974, Tyson landed the role of the title character in "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," a TV series based on the novel by Ernest J. Gains. She won two Emmy Awards for her performance, and was just getting started.</p><h2>Tyson's status as Hollywood legend grew as her career continued with 1977's 'Roots,' and eventually modern TV dramas like 'How to Get Away with Murder'</h2><div type="image" title="viola davis emmys cicely tyson" height="1132" width="1509" msid="80548912" hostid="261"></div><p>Tyson had a supporting role as Binta in the groundbreaking 1977 television miniseries "Roots." The series was nominated for 37 total Emmys and won nine. "Roots" was also awarded a Peabody award and still holds a record for <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2016/05/roots-miniseries-ratings-were-off-the-charts.html">one of the most-watched series finale in TV history</a>.</p><p>Tyson herself won another Emmy for her performance in the TV movie "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All," which premiered in 1994. Her film credits included "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991) and "The Help" (2011).</p><p>But the 2010s, Tyson still had a prolific acting career. She appeared in Netflix's first major drama series, "House of Cards," as well as the Shonda Rhimes-created ABC show "How to Get Away With Murder," a guest role for which she was Emmy-nominated five more times. </p><p>In 2015, Tyson became a Kennedy Center honoree. The next year, former President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. </p><p>"In her long and extraordinary career, Cicely Tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she has shaped the course of history," Obama said at the ceremony.</p><h2>Tyson published her memoir just days before her <keyword id="6355784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="death">death</keyword></h2><div type="image" title="Cicely Tyson Getty Images" height="1331" width="1774" msid="80548917" hostid="261"></div><p>Tyson's memoir, "Just as I Am," was published on January 26, 2021, just two days before she died. In the book, Tyson discussed her marriage to jazz legend Miles Davis. She spoke with the revelations about that relationship and its tumults, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/11/magazine/cicely-tyson-interview.html">in a January interview with The New York Times.</a></p><p>"I got to know the soul of a man who is as gentle as a lamb," Tyson said. "He covered it up with this ruthless attitude because he was so shy. Shy, you hear me? And in trying to be the kind of tough person that people thought he was, he ruined his life."</p><p>Tyson was also asked, given her age and the memoir's publication, whether death was something that scared her. </p><p>"I'm not scared of death," <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/11/magazine/cicely-tyson-interview.html">Tyson said</a>. "I don't know what it is. How could I be afraid of something I don't know anything about?"</p><p>"I take it a day at a time [...] and I'm grateful for every day that God gives me," Tyson continued.</p><p>Tyson's memoir is available <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/just-as-i-am-cicely-tyson?variant=32126582095906">online and in bookstores now</a>. </p>

Acting legend Cicely Tyson dead at 96

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> needs a new <keyword id="6361668" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TOILET">toilet</keyword> for going to the <keyword id="42440" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Moon">moon</keyword> — one that will work for all astronauts and function both in microgravity and on the lunar surface.</li><li>The agency is crowdsourcing ideas for the toilet with a "Lunar Loo" challenge. The top prize is $20,000.</li><li>Historically, most <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> toilets have been little more than a bag and a hose with a vacuum.</li></ul><p>The last time humans landed on the lunar surface, in December 1972, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bathroom-toilet-on-apollo-moon-missions-2019-7">they were all basically wearing diapers</a>.</p><p>That's because NASA never really bothered to design a proper toilet for the Apollo moon missions. Instead, astronauts peed into <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/urine-collection-device-ucd-roll-on-cuff/nasm_A20100111000">roll-on cuffs</a>, pooped into bags, and used space diapers when they ventured out of the spacecraft in their big bulky spacesuits.</p><p>"Defecation and urination have been bothersome aspects of space travel from the beginning of manned space flight," said an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bathroom-toilet-on-apollo-moon-missions-2019-7">official NASA report</a> on the Apollo missions <a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1975NASSP.368.....J/abstract">published in 1975</a>.</p><p>Nearly five decades later, as the US prepares to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-requests-35-billion-budget-increase-for-moon-landing-mission-2020-2">launch astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024</a>, the space agency is hoping to do things a little more comfortably.</p><p>"The astronauts were adamant that they do not want to go back to the Apollo bags," Mike Interbartolo, who's part of NASA's lunar-lander engineering team, told Business Insider.</p><p>So this time around, NASA is crowdsourcing a new toilet design for <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-names-companies-to-develop-human-landers-for-artemis-moon-missions">the Artemis moon lander</a>, launching <a href="https://www.herox.com/LunarLoo">a "Lunar Loo" contest</a> on HeroX.</p><p>"We need a toilet that needs to work for seven days on the surface of the moon, as well as during that transit time to and from the moon," Interbartolo said.</p><p>That means the toilet system must be functional in both the microgravity of space and lunar gravity, which is about one-sixth Earth's gravity. The toilet must also be usable for all astronauts, regardless of sex — something <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bathroom-toilet-on-apollo-moon-missions-2019-7">the first space bathrooms decidedly were not</a>.</p><h2>Going to the bathroom is space is not glamorous</h2><p><div type="image" title="bathroom iss" height="534" width="1246" msid="76626866" hostid="261"></div></p><p>NASA hasn't changed much about how astronauts relieve themselves in space <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-astronauts-pee-and-poop-in-space-2018-8">since it designed its very first toilets</a>.</p><p>The first US <keyword id="7058965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Space-toilet">space toilet</keyword>, designed for Skylab in the 1970s, was essentially a hole in the wall. Today on the International Space Station, astronauts use a funnel equipped with a fan that <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem-on-station/ditl_morning_routine">suctions their pee away</a>, but they still <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-you-go-to-bathroom-space-nasa-astronaut-2018-5">have to bag up their poo</a>. They've described it as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-you-go-to-bathroom-space-nasa-astronaut-2018-5">one of the most bothersome aspects of living in space</a>.</p><p>Russia designed the newest space toilet in operation on the ISS — a <a href="https://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2007-07/nasas-19-million-toilet/">$19 million contraption</a> that's been there since 2008. And SpaceX's new and mysterious commode on its Crew Dragon spacecraft <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-spaceship-ceiling-toilet-mystery-proprietary-design-2020-5">likely employs a basic hose-and-bag system</a>, much like what's on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.</p><p>But 2020 is shaping up to be a banner year for US space toilets: A <a href="https://techport.nasa.gov/view/93128">new urine-recycling model for the ISS</a> is in the works and set to arrive there before the end of this year.</p><p>The moon toilet, however, will be <a href="https://www.herox.com/LunarLoo">a bit trickier to develop</a>. In addition to needing to work in both microgravity and lunar gravity, it needs to be a lot smaller and lighter than the existing space toilets so that NASA doesn't have to waste a bunch of fuel rocketing it up and down to the lunar surface.</p><p>That's where the "hackers," "makers," "basement tinkerers," and "garage mad scientists" around the world come in, Interbartolo said.</p><p>"We want that different perspective over the next couple months of this challenge to really kind of open our eyes to the unknown unknowns that, since we're so tightly focused on what a space toilet is, maybe there are different things that we're not aware of out there," he said.</p><p>It's a lot like NASA and HeroX's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-pooping-space-challenge-winner-thatcher-cardon-2017-2">2017 Space Poop Challenge</a>, in which Dr. Thatcher Cardon, a flight surgeon and US Air Force colonel, invented a way to go to the bathroom inside a spacesuit without a diaper and took home $15,000.</p><p><div type="image" title="space poop challenge winner dr thatcher cardon nasa herox 30 labeled" height="1350" width="1800" msid="76626869" hostid="261"></div></p><h2>The new space toilet must be small, quiet, and easy to use</h2><p>With a mass of no more than 15 kilograms (about 33 pounds) and a maximum volume of 0.12 cubic meters (roughly 4.2 cubic feet), the new space toilet would be smaller than the typical minifridge.</p><p><a href="https://www.herox.com/LunarLoo/guidelines">NASA's guidelines for the challenge</a> say the toilet should be easy to clean and maintain and have a "5 minute turnaround time or less between uses." Competitive toilet designs will be easy for the astronauts to use, and they should conserve water while containing smells.</p><p>"There's potential that there will still be some sort of bag within the toilet system for the microgravity scenario, just because the body doesn't let go of some of that stuff, you know, as easily," Interbartolo said.</p><p>NASA's guidelines also say <a href="https://www.herox.com/LunarLoo">the new toilet must</a>:</p><ul><li>Function in both microgravity and lunar gravity.</li><li>Have a mass of less than 15 Kg in Earth's gravity.</li><li>Occupy a volume no greater than 0.12 m<sup>3</sup>.</li><li>Consume less than 70 Watts of power.</li><li>Operate with a noise level less than 60 decibels (no louder than an average bathroom fan).</li><li>Accommodate both female and male users.</li><li>Accommodate users ranging from 58 to 77 inches tall and 107 to 290 lbs in weight.</li></ul><p>"Bonus points will be awarded to designs that can capture vomit without requiring the crew member to put his/her head in the toilet," NASA said.</p><p>The deadline to submit toilet designs is August 17 at 5 p.m. ET. Prizes are $20,000 for first place, $10,000 for second, and $5,000 for third.</p><p>Kids and teens from 11 to 18 <a href="https://www.herox.com/LunarLooJr">can also submit their ideas for the moon toilet</a>, but they're competing for public recognition and some NASA swag, not cash.</p><p>"The big thing is it can't break the laws of physics," Interbartolo said.</p>

NASA is offering up to $20,000 to anyone who can design a better space toilet for astronauts sent to the moon

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>NASA</span></p><p class="caption">Buzz Aldrin in space on the Apollo 11 mission.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>There was no bathroom on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/nasa">Apollo</a> missions.</strong></li><li><strong>Instead, NASA astronauts peed into a roll-on cuff, and pooped in bags that they kneaded, rolled up tight, and took back to Earth.</strong></li><li><strong>NASA's first real space bathroom wasn't installed until the Skylab space station launched in the early 1970s. The first toilet on a US spacecraft didn't show up until the shuttle missions of the 1980s.</strong></li><li><strong>NASA <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-astronauts-pee-and-poop-in-space-2018-8">engineers said</a> that figuring out how astronauts should relieve themselves is one of the most "<span>bothersome aspects of space travel."</span></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.<span></span></li></ul><p>Bathroom breaks on the moon? Forget about it.</p><p>Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin may have been the first people to set foot on the lunar surface when Apollo 11 landed there 50 years ago, on July 20, 1969, but they had to forgo some Earthly conveniences in order to pull off the moon landing. </p><p>NASA engineers were so busy figuring out how to get astronauts to and from the moon that they didn't bother to design a toilet for the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s. In fact, the first toilet wouldn't be installed on a US spaceship until the space shuttle got one in the 1980s. (There was technically a toilet on the Skylab space station in the 1970s, but it was <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/EP-107/p109.htm">an inglorious commode</a> that looked like a hole in the wall, and astronauts had to <a href="https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/refs/skylab/sp_377.pdf">dry their feces</a> in a special compartment.)</p><p><span>"Defecation and urination have been bothersome aspects of space travel from the beginning of manned space flight," an <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/SP-368/contents.htm">official NASA report</a> on the Apollo space missions <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/SP-368/s6ch2.htm">reads</a>.</span></p><p>During Apollo 11, as with all the other Apollo missions, astronauts had to wrestle with a stinking baggie in order to relieve themselves. Here's what the process entailed.</p><h2>Human waste in space was relegated to a baggie system</h2><p><span>To pee, astronauts used what looked essentially like a condom (which they replaced daily), which was hooked up to a bag with a short hose. There was no female-friendly system, since the Apollo astronauts were all men. Spills happened often. </span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://history.nasa.gov/SP-368/s6ch2.htm">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">On the Apollo missions, astronauts peed into a cuff that emptied into this bag. The cuff wasn't designed for women.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>The procedure for dealing with poop in space was no better. </span></p><p><span>"In the absence of a system providing positive means for the removal of feces from the body, an extremely basic system had to be relied upon for in-flight fecal collection," the NASA report says. "The device used was a plastic bag which was taped to the buttocks to capture feces."</span></p><p><span><em><strong>Read More</strong></em>: </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-astronauts-pee-and-poop-in-space-2018-8"><em>From peeing in a 'roll-on cuff' to pooping into a bag: A brief history of how astronauts have gone to the bathroom in space for 57 years</em></a></p><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo</span></p><p class="caption">Apollo 11 command module pilot astronaut Michael Collins during a break in training for the July 1969 moon landing journey in Cape Kennedy, Florida, June 19, 1969. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., took a walk on the lunar surface, while Collins circled alone in moon orbit.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h2><p><span>This aptly named "fecal bag" that the astronauts used came complete with a compartment for toilet paper, and it had a built-in finger covering so astronauts could stay clean while positioning the bag on their butts. </span><span>It</span><span> wasn't easy to get the bag set up correctly inside the small flap at the back of astronauts' space suits. One Apollo astronaut estimated that the whole bathroom-going process took astronauts about 45 minutes. </span></p><p><span>And even then, the toilet-bag contraption was not fool proof. </span></p><p>During the Apollo 10 mission in May 1969, astronaut Tom Stafford sounded a warning: "Get me a napkin quick. There's a turd floating through the air," he said, according to one <a href="https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a410/AS10_CM.PDF">NASA transcript</a>.</p><p><span>NASA insisted that the astronauts bring back all of their feces for examination, so after the Apollo astronauts finished doing their business,</span><span> they had to seal up their baggies and "knead" them, as the report details, mixing in some all-important bactericide that would allow the excrement to get safely back to Earth. (There is now a <a href="https://history.nasa.gov/SP-368/s6ch2.htm">complete log of all five of the Apollo 11 space turds</a>.) </span></p><p><span>The poop bags were "rolled into the smallest possible volume" by the astronauts and stored for the return trip, following the well known backpacker mantra "pack it in, pack it out." Unsurprisingly, t</span><span>he report notes that "the problem of odor was continually present" during Apollo bathroom breaks.</span></p><p><span>"In general, the Apollo waste management system worked satisfactorily from an engineering standpoint. From the point of view of crew acceptance, however, the system must be given poor marks," the final Apollo bathroom report read.</span><span></span></p><p><span> Because relieving oneself in space was such a gross, time-consuming, and smelly task, astronauts often took laxatives before they launched, and sometimes relied on drugs that kept their intestines running more slowly.</span></p><h2><span>On the moon, astronauts wore space diapers</span></h2><p>Astronauts couldn't use this same bag system to catch their waste while wearing space suits on the lunar surface. So when Apollo astronauts left their spacecraft, they wore a "fecal containment system," which was basically a diaper.</p><p>It's not clear whether Aldrin and Armstrong ever took full advantage of those "systems" in <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html">their 21 hours and 36 minutes</a> on the moon, but Buzz does claim to be the first man to ever pee on another celestial body. </p><p><span>"It's lonely as hell out there," he <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?287838-1/apollo-legacy&amp;start=2902">told a crowd at the Newseum</a> on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. " I peed in my pants." </span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>NASA</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>The plaque that Aldrin and Armstrong left on the moon <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html">50 years ago reads, in part</a>, "h<span>ere men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969" </span></p><p><span>The plaque does not mention that they were both wearing diapers when they took that giant leap.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-video-apollo-16-lunar-rover-drive-on-moon-2017-11">Newly-released NASA footage shows what it's like to drive on the Moon first-hand</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

There was no toilet on the Apollo moon missions -&#160;here's how the astronauts went to the bathroom

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Before <keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> can fly astronauts to the moon, it must design a <keyword id="6361668" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TOILET">toilet</keyword> for the crew. </li><li>The agency's "Lunar Loo" <keyword id="6360717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Contest">contest</keyword> offered $20,000 for a <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> toilet design that would work both in microgravity and on the lunar surface.</li><li>The space agency announced the contest winner this week, as well as the designs that took second and third place. </li></ul><p>The last time astronauts landed on the moon, in December 1972, they wore glorified diapers.</p><p>NASA never designed a proper toilet for the Apollo missions. Instead, the astronauts — all of whom were men — peed into roll-on cuffs, pooped in bags, and used space diapers when they ventured out of the lander in their spacesuits.</p><p>NASA <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-astronauts-pee-and-poop-in-space-2018-8">sent the first space toilet to the earliest US space station</a> in 1973. The technology has improved since then, and the agency's latest <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/toilet-nasa-orion-spaceship-moon-mission-odor-control-problem-2020-9">$23 million space-toilet system</a> contains state-of-the-art fans that suction waste downward and provide odor control. </p><p>But now that NASA is working to send astronauts back to the moon in 2024, it's designing a new kind of toilet: one that can work both in orbit and on the lunar surface, where gravity is about one-sixth as strong as Earth's. </p><p>"We need a toilet that needs to work for seven days on the surface of the moon, as well as during that transit time to and from the moon," Mike Interbartolo, who's part of NASA's lunar-lander engineering team, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-is-offering-20000-lunar-loo-build-a-toilet-challenge-2020-6">previously told Business Insider.</a></p><div type="image" title="serena" height="694" width="1041" msid="78846744" hostid="261"></div><p>To accomplish that goal, the agency launched its <a href="https://www.herox.com/LunarLoo/updates">"Lunar Loo"</a> contest in June, in partnership with HeroX: a platform on which people can host contests, similar to the way fundraising efforts use Kickstarter. NASA invited engineers, designers, and space enthusiasts around the world to submit designs for moon-mission toilets.</p><p>All submissions had to work for male and female astronauts of varying heights and weights, and weigh less than 33 lbs (15 kg) in Earth's gravity.</p><p>"Bonus points will be awarded to designs that can capture vomit without requiring the crew member to put his/her head in the toilet," <a href="http://businessinsider.com/nasa-is-offering-20000-lunar-loo-build-a-toilet-challenge-2020-6">NASA's guidelines said</a>.</p><p>The contest received over 2,000 entries from around the world. On Thursday, NASA announced the winners. First place went to a team that designed a toilet they call the Translunar Hypercritical Repository 1 (THRONE). The team, led by Washington-based engineer <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/boone-davidson-b9145040/">Boone Davidson</a>, based its design on advice from former <keyword id="34120" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="astronaut">astronaut</keyword> Susan Helms.</p><p>That toilet won $20,000 in prize money, and the two runners up also got cash prizes. Here are the contest's three winners.</p><h2><strong>The first-place winners sought guidance from a retired astronaut </strong></h2><div type="image" title="THRONE Rendering" height="720" width="1036" msid="78846745" hostid="261"></div><p>The team behind the winning THRONE design wanted to get an astronaut's perspective, so they reached out to Susan Helms, who logged more than 5,000 hours in space before she retired from NASA.</p><p>Helms reportedly told the group that she and other female astronauts struggled to urinate and defecate at the same time while on the NASA Space Shuttle, which stopped operating in 2011. (Male astronauts could more easily <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-astronauts-pee-and-poop-in-space-2018-8#:~:text=Today%2C%20astronauts%20at%20the%20International,vacuum%2Dsucks%20their%20excrement%20away.&amp;text=A%20separate%20funnel%20equipped%20with%20a%20fan%20suctions%20their%20pee%20away.way.">use a funnel</a> to suction their urine away.) NASA's latest toilet model aboard the International Space Station has <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/10/space-toilet-nasa-women/616686/">addressed this issue</a> by reshaping the toilet's urine funnel to better fit female anatomy.</p><div type="image" title="susan helms" height="2092" width="3060" msid="78846746" hostid="261"></div><p>Davidson's all-male team of engineers was determined to design a toilet that would work for both male and female lunar explorers.</p><p>Their resulting mock-up includes a retractable covering that opens after a bladeless fan within the bowl is activated; the fan draws waste down to prevent it from "nudging" the astronaut's behind. Team member and structural engineer Kunal Vaswani said the team was inspired by the retractable roof of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.</p> <p>The toilet also includes a "genital guard" that uses airflow to direct liquid waste into the bowl. It even has a memory-foam seat cushion that conforms to different users' behinds, allowing a custom fit that further helps reduce the chance of floating waste.</p><p>"The judges found the THRONE team's innovative idea for a bladeless fan to entrain waste as a good alternative idea compared to the typical suction/vacuum pump system," NASA wrote in a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-names-lunar-loo-challenge-winners/">press release accompanying the announcement.</a></p><p>The judges were also impressed by the team's waste-storage system, which stores the bags of waste in a compartment similar to a Diaper Genie.</p><h2><strong>Second place went to a collapsible toilet with a custom seat for each astronaut</strong></h2><div type="image" title="lunar loo thatcher" height="494" width="712" msid="78846747" hostid="261"></div><p>Thatcher Cardon, a US Air Force colonel and flight surgeon, previously won the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-pooping-space-challenge-winner-thatcher-cardon-2017-2">HeroX Space Poop challenge in 2017, </a>which invited participants to design a system that could help astronauts comfortably pee and poop in their spacesuits.</p><p>Cardon's design for a waste-expelling suit featured a hole near the base of the genitals, through which inflatable bedpans and "hygiene wands" could be inserted and taken out without the astronaut needing to take the suit off.</p><div type="image" title="space poop challenge winner dr thatcher cardon nasa herox 30" height="1200" width="2133" msid="78846749" hostid="261"></div><p>For the space-toilet contest, Cardon teamed up with software specialist <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-morse/">Dave Morse</a> to design a blow-up, collapsible toilet that would have a custom seat for each astronaut. NASA said the team had designed an "an ideal interface for an Apollo bag-like system" that could reduce the weight of the moon-landing system.</p><div type="image" title="space poop challenge winner dr thatcher cardon nasa herox 34" height="3000" width="2399" msid="78846750" hostid="261"></div><p>Most space toilets rely on airflow and suction to keep waste from escaping. Cardon and Morse's toilet seat instead clings to astronauts' behinds so their waste cannot escape. For male astronauts, the toilet even has a "scrotal support area" that cradles the testicles. </p><p>When astronauts sit on the toilet, they'd pee and poop into separate pouches. A small fan at the toilet's base would suck the waste into those pouches.</p><p>A compressor helps keep the toilet inflated, and when astronauts finish using the device, it would suction the waste bags closed. After that, the bags could be frozen and put in storage until they get disposed of on Earth. </p><h2><strong>The designer that won third place works on luxury toilets full-time</strong></h2><p>By day, Franziska Wülker optimizes toilet-flushing performance for <a href="https://www.duravit.us/">Duravit</a>, a company that manufactures luxury bathroom appliances. So the focus of her third-place design is an ingenious flushing mechanism.</p><p>"In microgravity, the hardest thing is to get the things that should be in the toilet into the toilet," Wülker said in a conference call with NASA and HeroX on Thursday.</p><p>The Centrifugal Lunar Toilet she designed solves this problem using a simple spinning centrifuge at the center of the bowl. The toilet's wide seat enables astronauts to pee and poop at the same time, while a fan sucks liquid and solid waste into the machine, keeping the waste down using the force of its spin. A macerator crushes feces and toilet paper, then the crushed waste eventually gets pushed into a storage tank.</p><p>In its announcement, NASA said the design featured an impressive "trifecta of design concepts: a macerator, or shredder function for breaking down waste, a device for separating the waste, and a bagless system for containing the waste." </p><p><em>Correction: A previous version of this story said Susan Helms described challenges with a toilet on the space station, but she was actually describingthe toilet on NASA's Space Shuttle.</em></p>

NASA just picked a winner in its space-toilet competition. The $20,000 prize awards the best 'lunar loo' for moon-bound astronauts.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mystery-solved-nasa-to-try-perseverance-rover-sample-collection-again-2021-8">NASA</a> astronaut <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronauts-saddened-to-see-climate-crisis-wildfires-from-space-2021-8">Megan McArthur</a> has a message for future <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-galactic-space-flight-ticket-cost-450000-richard-branson-2021-8">space tourists</a>: Spaceflight is uncomfortable, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-risk-blue-origin-rocket-2021-6">risky</a>, and requires grit.</li><li>A civilian crew is set to fly on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-civilian-crew-view-from-spaceship-toilet-2021-6">SpaceX's Crew Dragon</a> next month.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spacex-astronauts-megan-mcarthur-bob-behnken-2021-4">NASA astronaut Megan McArthur</a> has a word of warning for future <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-tourists-fly-at-their-own-risk-nobody-regulates-safety-2021-7">space tourists</a>: orbiting Earth isn't all fun and games.</p><p>Well, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astronauts-held-first-space-olympics-on-space-station-2021-8">some of it is</a>. But the awe-inspiring experience of spaceflight comes with plenty of discomfort, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-risk-blue-origin-rocket-2021-6">risk</a>, and difficulty executing everyday tasks.</p><p>Living in microgravity is "sort of like having superpowers," McArthur told Insider in a recent call from the International Space Station (ISS). "I can lift things that, on Earth, I would need two or three people to help me lift."</p><p>But she added: "Things that are very, very simple on Earth suddenly become really hard - even something simple like sleeping or brushing your teeth. You have to really think about: How am I going to do this successfully and without making a mess?"</p><p><keyword id="11937986" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astronauts" source="Orion">Astronauts</keyword> have to swallow their toothpaste because spitting it out would leave liquid floating around. They sleep in little compartments about the size of a telephone booth, inside a sleeping bag secured to the wall so they don't float around. The sleeping booths have air vents so that bubbles of carbon dioxide don't form around the astronauts' heads.</p><p>Several companies are now selling spaceflights to the wealthy. At least two crews of tourists are set to launch aboard <keyword id="11908743" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacex" source="Orion">SpaceX</keyword>'s <keyword id="11937989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crew-dragon" source="Orion">Crew Dragon</keyword> spaceship in the next six months, and they are training to prepare for the discomforts of spaceflight. But only professional astronauts like McArthur really know what that's like.</p><p>Astronauts can't do laundry. And they can't shower. Instead they have to sponge-bathe using a soapy water solution in a bag, and use no-rinse shampoo to clean their hair. To go to the bathroom, they pee into a funnel and poop into a small hole, both of which suction waste away so it doesn't float around the station. </p><p>That's why some astronauts compare spaceflight to a rugged camping trip. But of course, it's far more extreme and risky than that.</p><p>"I think it's a little bit like other exploring that people have done over the generations," McArthur said. "You have to be willing to put up with a little discomfort and some risk, obviously. So you have to have grit, I think, in your personality to help you get through those things and enjoy those situations."</p><p>About 1% of US human spaceflights has resulted in a fatal accident, according to an <a href="https://aerospace.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/Koller-Nield_HumanSpaceflight_20201112.pdf">analysis</a> published earlier this year. That's about 10,000 times more dangerous than flying on a commercial airplane. It's unclear, though, how that failure rate will change as new, commercially developed spacecraft begin flying people regularly.</p><h2>One crew of future space tourists is getting 'comfortable being uncomfortable'</h2><div type="image" title="Inspiration4_Crew_at_Launch_Site" height="1500" width="3000" msid="85593236" hostid="261"></div><p>Since 2001, several millionaires and billionaires have paid for seats to the ISS aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. But now, private companies with their own rockets and spaceships are opening up a new industry of <keyword id="11937988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="space-tourism" source="Orion">space tourism</keyword>.</p><p>Last month, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virgin-galactic-rocket-plane-flies-richard-branson-crew-to-space-2021-7">Richard Branson</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-launches-to-space-blue-origin-first-human-spaceflight-2021-7">Jeff Bezos</a> each skimmed the edge of space aboard vehicles developed by the companies they founded - Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, respectively. Both companies are selling tickets for such suborbital flights.</p><p>The next tourists to go to space are due to launch next month aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship - the same model that flew McArthur to the ISS in April. They plan to orbit Earth for three days.</p><p>Billionaire Jared Isaacman chartered the flight, called Inspiration4, from SpaceX. He's taking one seat and giving the other three to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-final-members-of-the-all-civilian-inspiration4mission-revealed-2021-4">physician-assistant Hayley Arceneaux, Air Force vet and engineer Chris Sembroski, and scientist and analogue astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor</a>.</p><div type="image" title="crew dragon spaceship above earth with glass dome cupola beneath nosecone" height="1755" width="2340" msid="85593238" hostid="261"></div><p>To help prepare, part of their training involved an icy climb to the top of Mount Rainier in Washington.</p><p>"They built some mental toughness. They got comfortable being uncomfortable, which is pretty important," Isaacman told Insider. "Food sucks on the mountain. Temperatures can suck on the mountain. Well, that's no different than Dragon. We don't get to dial up and down the thermostat ... And I can tell you the food isn't great in space, from what we've tasted so far."</p><div type="image" title="Mount Rainier looms over Tacoma, Washington." height="2663" width="3550" msid="85593239" hostid="261"></div><p>In January, another group of tourists is set to fly on a Crew Dragon - the exact ship that McArthur rode to space, which will be reused for the mission. The flight, called AX-1, is the first tourist flight by the company Axiom Space, which aims to eventually build a private space station.</p><p>The AX-1 crew includes real-estate investor Larry Connor, Canadian investor Mark Pathy, and former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe. Axiom Space's vice president, former <keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nasa" source="Orion">NASA</keyword> astronaut Michael López-Alegría, will command the mission. The team is set to dock to the ISS and stay there for eight days. </p><div type="image" title="Ax1 crew members: Commander Michael López-Alegría, mission pilot Larry Connor, mission specialist Mark Pathy, mission specialist Eytan Stibbe" height="1480" width="2713" msid="85593240" hostid="261"></div><p>Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002, wants to eventually create a self-sustaining human colony on Mars. Bezos also wants to see off-planet colonies, which is why he founded Blue Origin in 2000. NASA, meanwhile, has long-term plans to establish a permanent human presence on the moon, then on Mars.</p><p>McArthur said even living in space relatively close to home is very difficult and risky, even with years of NASA training and previous spaceflight experience.</p><p>"I kind of knew what to expect. But then actually getting to live it was still really fun and really exciting and really challenging as well," she said. "As much as you prepare, the day-to-day life can still be very challenging."</p>

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur's warning to space tourists: Spaceflight is uncomfortable and risky. It takes grit.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> plans to use its <keyword id="177115" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Orion">Orion</keyword> spacecraft to fly astronauts to the moon.</li><li>But first, engineers have to figure out how to make the capsule's <keyword id="6361668" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TOILET">toilet</keyword> less stinky.</li><li>A model of the toilet is launching to the <keyword id="6382020" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="international-space-station">International Space Station</keyword> on Thursday night, where astronauts will test it out.</li></ul><p>On Thursday evening, NASA is sending a new, $23 million toilet to the International <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="space">Space</keyword> Station. </p><p>It's meant as a test: Astronauts on the ISS will test the toilet out before NASA installs an upgraded version on its Orion spaceship, which is slated to fly a crew to the moon as early as 2023. </p><p>Called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), the toilet is designed to be <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boldly-go-nasa-s-new-space-toilet-offers-more-comfort-improved-efficiency-for-deep-space/">easier for women to use</a> than prior space toilets. It's also made of strong metals that can withstand a highly acidic solution that NASA uses to treat astronauts' urine. </p><p>But Jason Hutt, the Orion spaceship's engineering lead, said there's still one kink with the UWMS: It's too stinky.</p><p>"If you want to recreate that used spacecraft smell, take a couple dirty diapers, some microwave food wrappers, a used airsickness bag, and a few sweaty towels, put them in an old-school metal trash can, and let it bake in the summer sun for 10 days," Hutt <a href="https://twitter.com/jhutt75/status/1295712066842644483">wrote on Twitter in August</a>. "Then open the kid and breathe deep."</p><h2><strong>Astronauts' pee could float in space forever</strong></h2><div type="image" title="orion test" height="693" width="1041" msid="78285426" hostid="261"></div><p>On the space station, the UWMS is slated to be installed next to one of the current ISS toilets. Though it's a demo model, the toilet is expected to stay on the station and be used there indefinitely. </p><p>Because there's no gravity in space to help flush waste downward, the UWMS uses motorized fans to suction away astronauts' urine and feces. On Orion, their poop would remain stored away until the ship returns to Earth. But there won't be room to store pee, and the spaceship can't recycle it into water the way the space station can —there's not enough space for a filtration system.</p><p>So the plan is for Orion astronauts to vent their pee into space, where it could float frozen forever (the temperature is -455 degrees Fahrenheit).</p><p>NASA has vented astronauts' pee into space before — the Space Shuttle toilet did the same thing. But during those flights, the urine froze onto the vent. This time, engineers are adding heaters into the system to prevent immediate freezing. </p><p>Because weight requirements for anything launching off of Earth are extremely strict, all space toilets have to be lightweight. But relying on small motors for powerful suction forces them to work hard. That means they're noisy. Because Orion is mostly made of aluminum alloy – it's "a big aluminum can," Hutt Business Insider – the noise of the toilet's whirring fans, clicking valves, and clanking machinery machine will reverberate throughout the ship. </p><p>But there's an upside: The loud sound gives toilet some privacy, since Orion's bathroom has only a thin door.</p><h2><strong>Astronauts can't use Febreze </strong></h2><div type="image" title="orion toilet mockup" height="838" width="628" msid="78285428" hostid="261"></div><p>Because Orion is only the length of a small powerboat and must house four waste-expelling adults for nearly a month, its toilet has to be compact and relatively odorless. The prospect of storing human waste for weeks at a time also requires engineers to figure out ways to tamp down the stench. </p><p>Engineers have nailed the first two elements, but are struggling with the third, Hutt said.  </p><p>"Odor is really caused by the chemical compounds released from human waste breaking through the filter that's supposed to remove those compounds," he said. </p><p>Of course, any filters NASA uses must also be light and compact.</p><p>If odors do escape, astronauts have very few options to combat them.</p><p>"You can't just open a window whenever something smells bad," Hutt said.</p><p>NASA also can't allow chemical deodorizers, like Febreze, on spacecraft — they would pollute the air too quickly, potentially harming the astronauts inside. Plus, pressurized canisters aren't allowed given the risk they could explode. </p><p>"Spaceflight has its share of bumps, and we don't want anything in the cabin that could become a hazard," Hutt said.</p><p>So his team has been testing many potential deodorizer options. The tests require human noses, so NASA has "certified sniffers" at its <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/centers/wstf/index_new.html">White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico</a>. True to their title, these employees are paid to smell the toilets after they've been used to evaluate whether odor-control measures are working.</p><p>These sniffers are the "unsung heroes of the space program," Hutt said. </p><p>So far, the safest deodorizer the team has experimented with is activated charcoal, a powdered charcoal that absorbs odors without requiring electricity or chemicals. The substance can be put into a filter in the ship's ventilation system.</p><p><em>This story has been updated with new information. It was originally published September 23, 2020.</em></p>

NASA is launching an experimental, $23 million toilet to the space station on Thursday. But its designers worry it's too stinky.

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson has logged a whopping 665 days in space.</strong></li><li><strong>That's an American record, and it's more time in space than just about anyone else on Earth can claim (aside from seven Russian cosmonauts.)&#xa0;</strong></li><li><strong>She's hit her "radiation limit" she says, and won't be headed back to the International Space Station again.</strong></li><li><strong>While it's a sad realization for Whitson, who loves a good gravity-free float, there's one thing she won't miss about living on the International Space Station: the bathroom.</strong></li></ul><p><br>NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson sometimes has tears in her eyes when she says she won't be going in to space again.</br></p><p>The former International Space Station boss has logged a whopping 665 floating days in space, more than any other American.</p><p>It's clear from her beaming smile and boisterous, frequent laughs that she loved nearly every aspect of the out-of-this-world job, from&#xa0;installing battery parts on the station's solar panels to <a href="https://twitter.com/ISS_Research/status/943151969081937920">sampling mysterious space microbes</a>.&#xa0;</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>"T<span>o be a part of exploration in that very direct way," she told Business Insider, is "</span><span>incredibly satisfying and gratifying."&#xa0;</span></p><p>But there's one aspect of life in space that Whitson says she won't miss at all: the toilet.</p><p>"T<span>he space station is not really a hotel yet," she said Tuesday, her feet firmly planted on the ground&#xa0;inside a five-star (and flush-toilet equipped) hotel in New York.</span></p><p><span>"I</span><span>&#xa0;would call it a camping trip.</span><span>"&#xa0;</span></p><p><span> The toilet on the ISS is not quite as bad as&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-astronauts-pee-poop-in-space-2016-7">the Maximum Absorbency Garment diapers</a> that astronauts sometimes had to use on missions like the Apollo moon trips. But the $19,000 Russian-made toilet (seen here)&#xa0;isn't exactly first class, either.&#xa0;<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>"U</span><span>rinating's relatively easy," Whitson says.&#xa0;</span></p><p>For that, astronauts use a funnel equipped with a&#xa0;fan that&#xa0;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem-on-station/ditl_morning_routine">suctions their pee away,</a> so it doesn't float off. (See the yellow cone on the top right side of this toilet photo? That's where the urine goes.) Then it <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scott-kelly-will-drink-730-liters-of-recycled-sweat-and-urine-2015-3">takes about eight days</a> for the liquid to become drinking water again for the astronauts.&#xa0;</p><p>But Whitson says that if you have to do more than just urinate, things aren't so simple.</p><p>"Number two...&#xa0;<span>is more challenging because you're trying to hit a pretty small target," she said.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>ISS residents go to the bathroom into a little plate-sized hole on top of that silver can, using the fan to vacuum-suck the excrement away. After the astronauts are done, the poop gets sealed up in a plastic bag, to await the next space trash day.</span></p><p><span>"After it starts getting full," Whitson said with a grimace, "you have to put a rubber glove on and pack it down."&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Every once in a while, the whole process goes awry, or the toilet malfunctions, and the astronauts have to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-astronauts-pee-poop-in-space-2016-7">catch a floating turd</a>.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span> But eventually, all that waste gets blasted off on a cargo ship that's jam-packed with ISS trash, and sent on a burning suicide mission towards Earth's atmosphere.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>"We send 'em on a trajectory that will&#xa0;</span><span>purposely burn up," Whitson said.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>As for the urine, about 80 to 85% of that gets recycled into drinking water, and the rest becomes briney waste.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>"We want a closed loop system,&#xa0;</span><span>which means we have to recycle all our water," Whitson said. Perhaps that'll be the next home improvement project onboard the ISS.&#xa0;</span></p><p>You can hear more of Whitson's story, from her roots on an Iowa farm to her journey into the cosmos, on the finale episode of National Geographic's "One Strange Rock," which airs <a href="http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/one-strange-rock/?utm_source=Google&amp;utm_medium=paidsearch&amp;utm_content=osrsearchf18&amp;utm_campaign=GGL_%7c_BRD_%7c_Broad_%7c_One_Strange_Rock_%7c_Title&amp;utm_term=+one_+strange_+rock">Monday May 28, at 10 p.m. Eastern on the National Geographic channel</a>.&#xa0;&#xa0;</p><p>If you're still flummoxed about how the toilet really works on the ISS, check out this explainer video from Italian astronaut&#xa0;<span>Samantha Cristoforetti:&#xa0;</span></p><p>&#xa0;</p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronauts-space-walk-international-station-2016-9">Here's the incredible view an astronaut sees on a space walk</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

A NASA astronaut who spent 665 days circling the planet reveals the misery of going to the bathroom in space

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider's Caroline Aghajanian is working from home in California during the coronavirus pandemic.</li><li>She's tested <keyword id="133641" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="DIY">DIY</keyword> under eye masks made from kitchen ingredients to reduce dark circles and puffiness. </li><li>The verdict: the potato mask was the most effective in reducing dark circles.</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><em>Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>.</em><br /><br /><strong>Caroline Aghajanian:</strong> This is just what I imagined I would be doing today. Oh! Well, oh, no. Oh.<br /><br />Hi, everyone. I am currently working from home and filming some videos here during this pandemic. I am sending a lot of love to all of you guys. While I'm home, I've been thinking about a few <keyword id="6354629" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="beauty">beauty</keyword> regimens I can try, and maybe you can too. This week, I'm testing a few at-home solutions to removing dark under-eye circles. I believe I have dark circles. I don't get as much sleep as I should, and I'm glaring at a screen 90% of the day. So, I found a variety of DIY under-eye masks that I can make from kitchen ingredients that people claim reduces puffiness and dark under-eye circles and overall adds hydration back to the under eyes.<br /><br />I know right now finding and getting ingredients might be kind of tough, so I picked a variety of remedies, and for a lot of these, you might already have everything you need. This is just a one-day test. I know results can vary if you try it for multiple days or twice a week. But I am only judging by one day and one try. So, let's see what's in the kitchen.<br /><br /><br />OK, so, the first mask is an avocado and aloe vera mask that I saw from a few sites and blogs. The only ingredients you'll need are avocado and aloe vera gel. I found this 99% aloe vera gel from Whole Foods, but if I didn't find it, I was going to stick to some after-sun gel with aloe that I had from last summer. From my research, I found that avocados are filled with a ton of vitamins and minerals, like vitamin E, that can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles. An avocado's natural oils can also soften, nourish, and hydrate the skin. While we're most familiar with aloe vera for sunburn relief, this gel can also help with acne and dry skin. Some benefits of aloe vera around the eyes include reducing swelling and puffiness. I cut a quarter of an avocado and mixed it with a quarter cup of aloe vera. Some recipes say to do 1 teaspoon of each, but it all depends on how much you want to make.<br /><br />It has, like, a nice consistency. It's not, like, watery, so it won't kind of drip off my eyes, let's hope. But let's do it. Wow, it feels so cooling. I cleaned it up a bit with my fingers and tried to spread the mask out more evenly, especially in the corner of my eyes, where it's super dark. Then I left it on for about 20 minutes. Should we make some guac? Some dip? At first, when you put it on, it's very cooling, but then now I feel just a slight tingle underneath my eyes. That could be from the aloe vera, or it could be from the avocado, but it's not painful. It's not, like, burning. But I can imagine if you have more sensitive skin than I do, you have to do, like, a test patch on your skin before you want to put it on your under eyes. Or keep it on for just a less amount of time.<br /><br />So, the mask stayed on my skin and wasn't as messy as I thought it would be. I removed it with a napkin, then washed it off with warm water. Afterwards, my under eyes felt very soft. It didn't work wonders on my dark circles, but my under eyes definitely looked and felt softer and more hydrated.<br /><br />Today, I'm trying a cucumber and rose water mask. For this mask, I needed some cotton rounds, and these will come in handy for other masks too. Cucumbers can help de-puff under eyes and soothe irritation. They're also about 96% water, so they add a lot of hydration to the skin. Rose water has anti-inflammatory properties and can soothe skin irritation. Also, rose water smells so good, and the aroma can help reduce stress. A few websites had a similar recipe that said to mix 1 teaspoon of minced cucumber with 1 teaspoon of rosewater. I first tried to put the cucumber in a slicer, but that didn't really get it into tiny pieces, so I sliced it up the old-fashioned way. Then I cut the cotton round in half, dipped it into the mixture, and placed it under my eyes for 10 minutes.<br /><br />Aah! Uh-oh. Oh, no. I don't like this. Aah! I actually had to lie down to keep them on, which I didn't mind, but it was still a mess. It did feel very cool and soothing under my eyes and smelled amazing. Ooh. Oh, that's hyd...that's, like really hydrated. That's very soft. So, next time I probably will just take a cucumber and slice it into big pieces and spray that with rose water and put that under my eyes. I might still have to lay down for that, 'cause the cucumbers will fall off, but I feel like it would be less messy than this. But I love the way it makes me feel. I feel, like, very awake, so that's good.<br /><br />Potato day! All you need for this one is one potato. This is one of the easier ones to try. You just slice the potato into thin half-moon pieces. I had to try a few times to get thinner pieces that'll stick to my face. You can also blend the potato, but after my cucumber mess, I decided slices are way easier. Potatoes are filled with minerals and have a lot of vitamin C. One of the main benefits of potatoes is reducing eye bags and dark circles. Booyah! Leave them on for about 20 minutes. I was lying down while doing this, and for a few minutes I applied the extra pieces on my eyelids, and, wow, this was so relaxing.<br /><br />Wow. Nice! Way to go, potatoes. Once I removed the potatoes, I instantly saw an improvement in my dark circles and the texture of my under eyes. So far, this is my favorite method because it was clean, easy, and it worked.<br /><br />Day four, coffee time! The ingredients you'll need for this mask are honey and soft ground coffee. There are actually a ton of videos of people who tried this coffee and honey mask, so I thought I'd give it a go. First, you mix a teaspoon of soft ground coffee and a teaspoon of honey together. I first tried mixing with a brush, but clearly this isn't the best brush for it. So I was able to mix them together with a spoon. Coffee is used in skin treatments for exfoliation, but it can also reduce wrinkles and puffiness and helps with inflammation. Honey is known to have antibacterial properties and can prevent wrinkles and fine lines. This mask wasn't as cooling as the other ones, probably because I'm using room temperature ingredients. For me, I definitely prefer some of the colder ones.<br /><br />Wow. This went on a lot easier than I thought. As if I didn't have dark under eyes before. I will say, it kind of feels like a very thick paste. I don't feel the fine coffee grounds, and it's not as sticky as honey, so I think the combination works really well together. It doesn't feel like glue on my face or anything. It just feels like a paste. And you have to be careful the paste doesn't fall. They kind of look like a Kylie Lip Kit. After 20 minutes, I used damp cotton rounds to carefully remove the mask. It came off a lot easier than I anticipated. I washed my face to make sure everything was off, and this is what my eyes looked like. Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with the results for this one. My under eyes looked the same and didn't feel any different.<br /><br />On day five, I tried a green tea and rose hip oil mask that I saw in a YouTube video by Spankie Valentine. All you need is a green tea bag, rose hip oil, and cotton rounds again. If you don't have rose hip oil, you can still try this mask without it. So, online, I've read that you can use the teabags cold or warm. Obviously, don't burn yourself. But cold teabags can help reduce dark circles, shrink eye bags, and soothe red eyes and irritation, especially green tea. Rose hip oil is a natural vitamin source and can stimulate collagen production and elasticity. And I definitely think I need that under the eyes. It also hydrates and moisturizes the skin. First, you steep the green tea, then mix it with a few drops of rose hip oil. In the video, she opened up the green tea bag and added the actual tea leaves in there, so I did the same. Then take two halves of a cotton round and dip that in the cup. I drained the water and made sure I got a lot of tea leaves onto the cotton round. Cool for 20 minutes, then apply.<br /><br />OK, I'm just gonna... [laughs] I'm just gonna soak it here. I have lost it. I am a mess. Great. Huh. Oh! Well, oh, no. Oh, dear. How did she have it on? Ah! Oh. Oh, darling, you're gonna stick on that eye. How marvelous. The wet tea leaves felt pretty itchy and irritating under my eyes. After 15 or 20 minutes, I removed the patches by wiping my eyes with damp cotton rounds. They came off right away, then I rinsed my face. As for the results, my dark circles that day were pretty bad, I think worse than the previous days, so seeing the after pictures, I feel like the mask helped reduce some of the dark circles.<br /><br />Honestly, a good alternative is just steeping two teabags, cooling, and placing under or over your whole eye. I once had an irritated eye and did this trick, and it helped reduce the irritation, so that's an easy bonus trick.<br /><br />And last, but not least, I tried a buttermilk turmeric eye mask that I saw DIY queen Farah Dhukai do. Turmeric has a ton of benefits, including lightening pigmentation, reducing wrinkles, and minimizing UV damage and breakouts. I didn't have buttermilk, so I made my own by mixing milk with white vinegar. Buttermilk contains lactic acid, which can gently exfoliate, improve pigmentation, and remove fine lines. Careful not to add too much turmeric, because it can stain.<br /><br />Wow, this was an easy application. It feels so good. I can actually feel, like, the calmness of the brush with this mask because it's so liquid-y. It's not as drippy as I thought it would be. It was really easy to get those dark corners with this mask and brush. I feel like I can meditate with this mask on. I think the turmeric is, like, helping my sinuses. Anyway, wow, I am actually very surprised that this mask isn't, like, dripping off. I left it on for about 15 minutes. At first it felt a bit tingly, but as the mask dried, that feeling went away. The cold milk underneath my eyes was incredibly soothing. Then I easily wiped it off with the damp cotton rounds. My skin was a bit stained, but that went away after a few minutes. While it's a bit hard for me to tell, I think this mask helped with the texture of my under eyes and the fine lines more than the dark circles. But I'll take it.<br /><br />There you go. These DIY masks were super fun to try. The potato mask was my favorite because I instantly saw brightening results under my eyes. It was also the easiest one to make and apply. The turmeric and buttermilk mask was a close second because it improved some of my fine lines and was very soothing under the eyes. Let me know what other suggestions you have in the comments below and which mask is your favorite.<br /><br />Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/diy-under-eye-masks-using-home-ingredients-dark-circles-2020-3">Insider</a>

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