The Space Toilet Episode
Published by
Sean Mobley
on
“How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?” This is a question we hear often at the Museum, asked by people young and old from all around the world. Host Sean Mobley enlisted Museum of Flight expert Brenda Mandt, one of the masterminds behind the Museum’s NASA Space Shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer Tours, to investigate how humans carry out this universal body function in space. In this first of two episodes, Brenda shares about the early tests and solutions developed for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions. They were messy and uncomfortable!
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Want more space physiology? Check out this episode from the Flight Deck archives with Museum of Flight Docent and Space Expert Tommy Gantz about the effects of space on the human body.
Walk around the NASA Full Fuselage Trainer without leaving your home! Check out our full 3D VR scan of the trainer here. Can you find the toilet?
If you want to read more of the Apollo 10 transcripts, you can find them here. They show a vastly different side of the astronauts than you’ve seen before. The recording played during the episode is transcribed on page 414 of the document.
Credits:
Host/Producer: Sean Mobley
Producer: Megan Ellingwood
Webmaster: Layne Benofsky
Social Media Specialist: Tori Hunt