Nasa tests new US$23 million titanium space toilet designed with women astronauts in mind
- Device will see use on International Space Station before eventually being sent on moon mission
- Additional facilities needed as SpaceX and eventually Boeing send more crews into orbit
Nasa’s first new space potty in decades – a US$23 million titanium toilet better suited for women – is getting a not-so-dry run at the International Space Station before eventually flying to the moon.
It is packed inside a cargo ship set to blast-off late on Thursday from Wallops Island, Virginia.
Barely 100 pounds (45kg) and just 28 inches (71cm) tall, it is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built toilets at the space station. It is more camper-size to fit into the Nasa Orion capsules that will carry astronauts to the moon in a few years.
Station residents will test it out for a few months. If the shakedown goes well, the toilet will be open for regular business.
With SpaceX now launching astronauts to the space station and Boeing less than a year from sending up its first crew, more toilets are needed. The new one will be in its own stall alongside the old one on the US side of the outpost.