Ever wondered how astronauts in those fancy spacesuits, floating in a weightless environment, respond to nature's call? Well, just the way babies do. When floating in their spacesuits, astronauts wear an absorbent diaper which can keep them going for a day. Now, however, with NASA planning longer, deeper space missions, diapers are not a viable option. And if you can come with a plan that works, NASA is willing to make you rich.
The space agency has launched the Space Poop Challenge, in partnership with a website HeroX, asking innovators to come up with a feasible faecal, urine and menstrual management system for spacesuits. The winning space poop solution will be awarded $30,000.
In a video introducing the challenge, veteran astronaut Rick Mastracchio says, “... space flight is not always glamorous. People need to go to the bathroom even in a spacecraft.”
In future space missions, NASA is planning for emergencies involving decompression that force astronauts to remain in their suits for an extended period of time. Sitting for long in your poop or urine is bad for the health of astronauts and even infections can set in which is major health threat, sometimes even leading death of the astronaut. The poop challenge is a move towards NASA's plan to ditch the diaper and go for a more hygienic option. "Future missions may require long-duration waste management for use by a pressurised suited crew member," NASA wrote in a statement on HeroX. The agency is asking innovators to create waste management system for spacesuits, that would work for up to six days.
The greater challenge is that this system should work in a pressurised spacesuit in a microgravity environment. You don't want your body fluid and poop sticking out on your body after they are out of the orifices. The poop challenge is open till December 20, 2016 and names of the winners will be announced on January 31, 2017.
The new solution will be incorporated into the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit, the orange spacesuit used for shuttle launches and landings. It will also be used by astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft. Though this technology is being developed for space flight, it will have applications on Earth, too, says Mastracchio. The medical fraternity will more than benefit from a garment or device that safely removes waste from a bedridden patient.
So get down and work your brains, for the love of science, and the prize money.
