The International Space Station (ISS) will get a new system of toilets fitted soon that will make sending mixed-gender crews on a mission together convenient. These toilets have been made by NASA's Universal Waste Management System (UWMS).
The new technology will replace the current toilets that were designed in the 1990s. The newly designed toilets have redesigned the shape and volume of the seat. It will be simpler to use and even treats urine so that it can be safely processed by the recycling systems present at the station.
In a review report given by the space agency, NASA revealed that the current toilets had a number of problems that needed solving.
The review said that the toilet was "sensitive to crew alignment on the seat and can result in inadvertent fouling of the collection hardware with fecal material".
Apart from this, the outdated models have been proven to have been unsuccessful in the "capture and ease of use for simultaneous urination and defecation for mixed gender crews."
The new toilet will also come with a hooking system that is already in use in the Russian part of the ISS.
This will help astronauts hook their feet under the toe bars to get better grip and stay anchored while using the loo.
Till now, the US toilets had the bars located at a higher height.
The brand new Universal Waste Management System will be delivered to the space station sometime in the fall and will remain on the ISS until the end of the station’s lifetime.
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