Astronaut Suit

📰 HK9: NASA's new space suit has a built-in astronaut toilet

Astronauts aboard NASA's next-generation Orion spacecraft will be able to avoid inconvenient trips to the lavatory during missions, thanks to a new space-suit. The space agency is busy producing new astronaut clobber that includes a long-term waste disposal system.

They will be designed to sustain the crew in the case of sudden loss of cabin pressure and supply vital features like life-support and waste disposal. In fact, astronauts can survive in the new suits for up to six days and should be able to breathe, eat and defecate without taking them off.

Each suit contains a faecal bag and, for men, a condom catheter that fits over the penis and has a tube at the end to collect the urine. These method has been used since the 1970s and remains one of the most straightforward methods of relieving yourself in space. However, a female urine-disposal system isn't fully developed yet. Both male and female suits come equipped with what are called maximum absorbency garments (MAG's) which are effectively adult nappies, just in case.