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Related: About this forumPooping in space: An Air Force colonel's genius solution
https://www.airforcetimes.com/articles/q-a-with-air-force-colonel-who-won-nasas-space-poop-challengePooping in space: An Air Force colonel's genius solution
By: Charlsy Panzino, March 7, 2017
In space, no one can hear you poop. But that doesnt mean it isnt a health and hygiene issue for astronauts. Thats why NASA asked the public for ideas to help astronauts deal with their Number 1 and Number 2 problems, as part of the NASA Space Poop Challenge.
The competition challenged creative minds to come up with ways for astronauts to manage personal waste in space while ditching the traditional diaper. The low-tech, temporary solution isn't meant for long-term situations. Instead, NASA wanted to find a way for astronauts to dispose of urine and feces for up to 144 hours or six days.
Air Force Col. Thatcher Cardon, commander of the 47th Medical Group at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, won the grand prize of $15,000 with his MACES Perineal Access and Toileting System, or M-PATS. It involves inserting different tools into a port in the front of the space suit to collect an astronauts waste in a hands-free and mess-free fashion.
Astronauts aren't normally in their space suits, known as the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit, or MACES, for six days, and part of that limitation is toileting, Cardon said. Right now, [NASA] is trying to plan for an emergency, he said. You dont want to be in your space suit if you can help it. However, if a spaceship is on the other side of the moon and a meteor puts a hole in the ship, Cardon said, astronauts may need to live in their suits until they can get back to Earth. In the future, a system like this could be used for longer space travel. If youre on Mars walking around, youd have to run back to the bathroom every time, he said. If you can handle that in your suit, it opens a lot of options.
(snip)
He spoke with Air Force Times about the challenge and how his system works. The interview was edited for clarity.
Q. How did you get involved with the Space Poop Challenge?
Col. Thatcher Cardon: I was looking at the news and saw it come up. I was instantly interested. It was kind of in my wheelhouse as a flight surgeon, so I thought maybe I could do that. I read about the different requirements. You could leave the waste in the suit or take it out. Im not going to leave it in the suit because thats just disgusting. Its just going to cause problems. I decided it was going to come out. Then I thought, where am I going to take it out? You cant take it out the back because you cant reach it. You cant really operate anything back there, especially in a space suit. I thought about laparoscopy surgery [that uses a thin tube through an incision]. I could design a valve thats like laparoscopy surgery and design items to go through the valve to perform that function. It all seemed to really flow after I came up with the valve introducer concept.
Q: Can you tell us how the devices work, step by step?
A: If you were using, say, the female urine suction device, you would get the universal suction box and hook it to your suit. You would get out the introducer that had a female urine suction wand in it, unwrap that, hook it to the suction end of the suction box, and open the port on the front of your suit. With the safety valve, the air wouldnt come out of your suit. You put the introducer in that hole, and the introducer would prevent air escaping when the valve opens, and it would equalize the pressure. The wand would be there, and it would inflate or unfold, and you put that in position and turn on the suction pump and urinate into it. The urine would be sucked into the collection bag through the cup. When youre finished, you deflate the wand or fold it back up and pull back the introducer.
(snip)
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Pooping in space: An Air Force colonel's genius solution (Original Post)
nitpicker
Mar 2017
OP
Trump already has problems with his bowels but the doctors say its inoperable
cstanleytech
Mar 2017
#2
gordianot
(15,242 posts)1. Trump would have problems since it may block his arousal.
Guess he will never go to space.
cstanleytech
(26,317 posts)2. Trump already has problems with his bowels but the doctors say its inoperable
as his head has simply grown to large to safely remove it.