NASA has created a new $23 million titanium toilet. Apparently, the toilet is going to be better suited for women.
The toilet will be going to the International Space Station on a cargo ship. This toilet is roughly half the size of toilets currently being used in the International Space Station. It weighs only 45 kilograms and is just 71 centimeters tall. Its small size will enable it to fit in capsules that will be carrying astronauts to the moon in the coming years.
With private companies like SpaceX and Boeing launching astronauts to the space station, the need for toilets there has increased. The new one is going to be present on the US side of the outpost.
The old toilets were better suited for men
The old toilets were more suited for men than women. So, to make this toilet more suitable for women, NASA has tilted the seat and also made it taller. The new shape will allow astronauts to relieve themselves more comfortably.
NASA has not only thought about the women when it comes to Number 2 but also for Number 1, some changes are made. The funnels have been redesigned. And women can use the elongated and scooped-out funnels to urinate while sitting on the commode to poop at the same time. Apparently, until now it’s been one or the other.
Urine will be recycled
Air suction instead of water and gravity removes the waste from the commode. This has been the same for all the space commodes till now. The urine would be collected, recycled, and purified so, that it can be used for drinking and cooking purposes. Titanium was chosen to make the toilet as it can withstand all the acid in the urine.
Going to the bathroom isn’t easy in space. While the old bathroom was okay for women, the new one is far better than it. In space, you can’t afford even a single leakage, because you know there is no gravity. So, you might end up seeing your poop floating in front of you.
The last time NASA ordered up a new toilet was way back in the 1990s. It was to accommodate two-week space shuttle missions.
New toilets are also very important for ISS as a typical space station population is expected to increase from six to seven with SpaceX flights. And also with space tourism becoming a thing, it is only going o become more important.
