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Space Toilets, How They Work and What Happens to the Waste

Oct 9 2007

One of the questions most asked of astronauts is "How do you go to the toilet in space?". The answers range from the straightforward to the cryptic but a Canadian astronaut has revealed all the details in a recent presentation.

A video of  the presentation is available on YouTube and is shown below.

The basic idea is that the solid waste is sucked into a holding tank via air pressure. The tank is exposed to open space resulting in the tank of waste being freeze dried to kill germs and pathogens. When the tank is full it is jettisoned and burns up on entry to earth's atmosphere.

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