US doctor invents a genius solution for using the toilet in space
The winning device of HeroX and NASA’s ‘Space Poop Challenge’ and how it works
Astronauts have a problem: a bathroom problem.
Bulky spacesuits force them to either hold their urine and feces, possibly for up to 12 hours, or use a diaper. Aside from fasting, there really is no other option.
But the future of going potty in space suddenly looks pretty practical thanks to the ingenuity of Dr. Thatcher Cardon, a 49-year-old family doctor, flight surgeon, and USAF colonel who lives in Del Rio, Texas.
Space agencies are looking to send people to the moon, asteroids, and even Mars, so adventurous humans will need to use the restroom in space — which is why HeroX and NASA teamed up to launch the Space Poop Challenge.
The contest’s organisers announced that Dr. Cardon had won the US$15,000 first-prize for his prototype invention.
“You need to plan for emergencies. If a small meteor puts hole in the Orion spacecraft, for example, astronauts might have to spend six days in their suits until they can get back to Earth, or they can fix the hole,” Dr. Cardon tells Business Insider. “There was no option inside of a spacesuit for feces, except for a diaper, until now.”
Dr. Cardon shared photos and video with Business Insider of his incredible solution — called the MACES Perineal Access and Toileting System (M-PATS) — to this decades-old problem.