Artemis II's toilet is a moon mission milestone

Post by Brian_K_White » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:22 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #99

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they not have the astronauts simulate the mission beforehand, on Earth? Wear the clothing, eat the meals, use the toilet, etc? It sounds like that would have allowed them to fix the suit before they went? They must have eaten the meals and such to be sure they could function, make sure they didn't have any intolerance, for example?

Apollo was largely driven with the purpose of achieving the goal rather than obsessing on the details on the way to that goal. In fact during Apollo they even completely scrapped mathematical risk modeling because the results it always gave were basically 'you die.' So for instance a relevant and famous anecdote is that the original tests for Apollo launches didn't have any sort of urine/fecal disposal systems at all…

Post by etskinner » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:32 PM UTC

fwipsy wrote: post #70

spiderice wrote: post #61

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Yes they pulled engineers off the heat shield to engineer the toilet. That is totally how it works.

Are you sure? I wouldn't have thought the skills would be transferable. I don't mean to judge, but I think if your toilet needs heat shield engineers, maybe you should see your doctor.

Post by RataNova » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:43 PM UTC

0x38B wrote: post #13

More on what astronauts found “objectionable” and “distasteful” with Apollo's system, from the PDF linked in the OP (1): "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 principal problem with both the urine and fecal collection systems was the fact that these required more…

Post by mikkupikku » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 12:52 PM UTC

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #117

outworlder wrote: post #83

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> Seems like a big issue is I'm guessing insistence on having this be a solo operation for cultural reasons. I had to do some stool collection and it took every ounce of willpower and a N95 mask to prevent me from vomiting everywhere. And that was my poop. I think it's more than cultural, there's a strong visceral reaction. On the other hand, I can pickup my dog's poop no problem. Nurses are heroes.

Having an repulsion for shit is a healthy adaptation. But it seems that for some people they're much more sensitive. Similarly, it's probably useful for a primitive person to vomit on sight of a familiar person vomiting, collective protection. Definitely a trait to find out before going to space!

Post by moduspol » Fri, Apr 03, 2026, 1:06 PM UTC

asdff wrote: post #54

smallmancontrov wrote: post #45

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Warning: gross Of course, but the fundamental problem is that difficulties compound. It starts with: pooping is much harder when gravity isn't there to persistently tug on the turd. Something that is slightly obnoxious on Earth (using a bag, using a suit flap) turns into an absolute trainwreck when you have a bag, a suit flap, and turd separation failure. Now you have to do precise mechanical manipulation of an objec…

Seems like a big issue is I'm guessing insistence on having this be a solo operation for cultural reasons. Seems like it would be easy with two astronauts. Have the one bend over and spread the cheeks wide with both hands, the other basically does the hand in the dog poop bag trick right as the poop is coming out and wipes them up after. No worse than what a nurse does every day for work.