• Health
  • Science
  • U.S.
  • Technology
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

Building a Better World

News and information

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Our Team

What to do with the poop? NASA asks for help

November 28, 2016 By Jerry Newberry

What to do with the poop?  NASA asks for help

NASA asking the public for help in dealing with waste matter during lengthy space flights.

Despite being a running joke for more than 30 years of space travel, what to do with human excrement and urine has been a long-time problem for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its astronauts, and the space agency is looking to the public for some new ideas.

This problem will be particularly troubling on long space missions to Mars, which NASA is planning in the next 15-20 years, or possibly sooner.  Currently, the astronauts use a funnel-type system for urination and a vacuum system for excreting waste material.

That’s not a real problem as long as they are not confined to their space suits, which practically make the process impossible.  Those suits are designed to be pressurized for the astronaut’s protection and even scratching an itch becomes quite difficult, much less relieving oneself.

Diapers can provide temporary relief, but wearing them for more than one day could lead to a variety of issues, not excluding diaper rashes.

And the last thing you would want in a weightless environment would by urine and waste matter floating around the capsule and attaching itself to the controls and monitor screens.

So, the agency is asking the public for ideas of how to deal with the space waste.  Calling it the “Space Poop Challenge,” NASA has set up a website asking for public ideas on how to deal with the issue, and challenging interested parties to come up with a “system inside a space suit that collects human waste for up to 144 hours and routes it away from the body, without the use of hands.”

The challenge comes with a total prize amount of $30,000 to prove they are serious about the issue, and is open to individuals age 18 or older, as well as private, public and college teams.  Submissions must be uploaded by 11:59 EST on December 20, 2016 in order to be considered.

The designs will be evaluated for suit integrity, health and safety, comfort and ease of use, among other categories.

As the website says, “when you gotta go, you gotta go.”  And on a several month journey to Mars, you gotta go a lot, and how to deal with it is certainly NASA’s mind.

Sharing

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Filed Under: Front Page, Science

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Facebookrss

Search:

Recent Posts

  • NASA’s InSight spacecraft makes important course correction May 26, 2018
  • Scientists outraged at latest Trump decision May 15, 2018
  • Huge uproar erupts over major incident at Utah park May 13, 2018
  • Incredible moon discovery stuns scientists May 12, 2018
  • Authorities shocked by discovery about common painkiller May 6, 2018
  • Outrageous crocodile experiment stuns scientists May 5, 2018
  • Great Barrier Reef is too quiet, scientists say May 1, 2018
  • Massive Hiroshima bomb discovery shocks scientists May 1, 2018
  • Earth will be slammed by massive asteroid April 29, 2018
  • Teens are doing something incredibly alarming in schools April 29, 2018
  • Huge discovery in Tasmania stuns scientists April 28, 2018
  • Shocking discovery in New Jersey stuns authorities April 22, 2018
  • Huge volcanic explosion could wipe out the United States April 21, 2018
  • Huge controversy erupts over world’s hottest pepper April 15, 2018
  • SpaceX is about to do something astonishing April 15, 2018

Copyright © 2022 Jones Kilmartin Group, LLC · Metro Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress