Being in a microgravity environment presents astronauts with some interesting challenges , and one of them is how to hygienically dispose of the many type of waste material produced by the human body .
Although there are two privy on the International Space Station ( ISS ) , when astronauts are in quad suits during launching , reentry , and spacewalks they do n’t have the luxury of bathroom breaks . During those time , which could be up to 10 hr , they wear diapers because there are no other solution . They have to go , where no one has gone before .
But with deep space mission to the Moon and Mars predominate on the horizon , NASA says that diapers will not be a suitable root for disposing of urine , menstrual blood , and faecal matter . So , they are using the crowdsourcing websiteHeroXto launch an opened competition to solve this problem .
“ What ’s involve is a scheme inside a space suit that amass human waste for up to 144 hours and rout it by from the body , without the use of hands , ” NASA states on thecompetition page .
“ The system of rules has to operate in the conditions of infinite – where solid , fluid , and gasses float around in microgravity and do n’t needfully mix or act the way they would on Earth . ”
In outer space , solid leaping around while liquids make blobs and stick to surfaces . It might seem risible opine a space suit slowly fill with waste , but it ’s not only unhealthy , it ’s terrifyingly dangerous . Italian astronaut Luca Parmitanorisked drowningduring a spacewalk in 2014 when his courting began filling with water .
Finding a solution for waste management is clearly all important for NASA . And if the aura of being an “ Interplanetary Poop Engineer ” is n’t invoke enough , the project also has three trophy of up to $ 30,000 for the successful aim . It ’s subject to individuals , as well as individual , public , and donnish teams .
The deadline for this labor is December 20 , and NASA would like to essay the solution within a year and fully implement it within three .
So , if you believe you ’ve get what it train to work this gummy situation for NASA , go and apply !
