March 11, 2009 While the thought of rocketing into space might
make some people want to soil themselves, going to the toilet in
zero gravity is a very real problem for space faring astronauts.
Until now the solution has been to strap themselves onto a
toilet that is similar to traditional western style toilets but
employs a vacuum cleaner like machine to suck the wastes away –
doesn’t sound too pleasant does it. Now it seems the Japanese
are approaching the problem from a different tack with Pink
Tentacle reporting that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
(JAXA) has teamed up with engineers from the private sector to
develop a next-generation space toilet that is designed to be
worn like a diaper. The proposed toilet is designed to be worn
by the astronauts at all times with sensors detecting when the
wearer relieves himself or herself. This will automatically
trigger a rear-mounted suction unit to draw the wastes away
through tubes to a separate container and the device will wash
and dry the wearer afterw