Astronauts tell the story of going to the toilet in the universe

According to the veteran American astronaut, urinating in the cosmic environment is not a problem, but defecation is extremely difficult.

She is an American astronaut who holds the record for the longest number of working days at the International Space Station (ISS). Recently she shared with Business Insider the experiences of her 665 working days in the universe.

Peggy Whitson - (Photo: BUSINESS INSIDER).

In sharing, Mrs. Whitson said she loved the space travel, except that she had to defecate there.

On ISS, astronauts must use a toilet with a wide lid of only about 10cm (the toilet we use is about 30-45cm wide). In addition, they had to use wires to tie themselves to the seats. This also helps to ensure that waste is not released when they are "on duty".

Waste after defecation will be carefully packed in a plastic bag and disposed of in the next round of garbage cleanup. When the waste is too full, the astronauts must "wear rubber gloves and compress it down".

According to Peggy, that is when the ISS toilet works normally. When it goes wrong, sometimes astronauts have to deal with floating lumps.

Regardless of these "crying and laughing" stories, Peggy Whitson is still thrilled to say she will no longer return to the universe.

Toilet used on ISS station - (Photo: NASA).

Three years ago, Al Jazeera broadcast a video interview with Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti explaining the toilet's operation on ISS.

This toilet was brought to the ISS station in 2008, built by Russia at a cost of about 19,000 USD. It has the ability to turn astronauts' urine into potable water.

Accordingly this toilet uses a device with a duct that uses suction to pull away the urine and stool after each astronaut uses the toilet.