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| Space Station Bog |
All of a sudden, my interest in deep space travel as disappeared in seconds when I read an article that NASA awarded a $200,000 (£127,000+) a year grant to a research project aimed at turning astronaut poo into food.
NASA are looking into the challenges of feeding astronauts in missions that could last months or even years and with future plans to colonise Mars. They are aiming at creating a 'closed loop' system on a spacecraft - one that could use astronauts' waste into food, fertiliser, supplements, or other useful materials for a long space flight.
Having a poo in zero gravity is not easy according to my research. It involves a fancy vacuum and collection chambers. For a No. 2, you sit on the seat, held in by a bar across your lap and straps across your feet, while a fancy, multimillion-dollar vacuum cleaner sucks your poo into a collection chamber. Ever tried to do No. 2 without doing No. 1 when you really have to go. It’s tough, and if you can’t handle it, you may want to reconsider a career as an astronaut. Astronauts have to hold in one or the other of their waste products and use a different method of disposal for each.
To dispose of urine, they must use a separate system, which involves a kind of funnel attached to a hose, which is also attached to an insanely expensive liquid-sucking vacuum cleaner. Ultimately, the solid waste ends up in a collection chamber and is disposed of back here on Earth, while the liquid waste floats around in space.
They are always looking to upgrade their equipment they are weight conscious so using bodily fluids could always be the next step. If is good enough for space, how long before it would be on sale in your local shop.
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