Let’s Talk Space Toilets

The little things that matter in big missions

Space travel is glamorous until you have to use the bathroom. A recent Substack essay has reminded readers that astronauts historically go to great lengths to avoid doing the deed in transit — it has been reported that crews rely on special diets, drugs, and tips passed down through generations to skip a trip to the onboard toilet. Capsules like Soyuz and Crew Dragon have basic facilities, but for multi-day rides the mantra is simple: you should have gone before you left Earth.

A short, smelly history

It has been reported that Frank Borman tried to hold it for nine days on Gemini 7, and the anecdote captures the odd desperation of early spaceflight: tiny cabins, long waits, and limited hygiene. Sanitation on Apollo was famously awful; it has been reported that astronauts spent long, uncomfortable stretches kneading antimicrobial powder into collection bags while living in what some describe as a three-man port‑a‑potty. The takeaway? It took years to engineer something that actually worked in microgravity.

Why gravity is the enemy

On Earth, gravity does three jobs for you: it keeps you seated, it pulls waste away, and it hides it under water. In zero‑G you need alternatives for all three. Engineers have experimented with straps, suction boots, and vacuum systems; some ideas failed spectacularly. The technical challenge is simple to state and fiendish to solve: contain biological waste without relying on a force you don’t have. Sounds mundane, but it’s mission‑critical.

Stakes for the Moon and Mars

Why should we care now? Longer habitats and commercial flights mean more time in enclosed quarters, and missions to the Moon or Mars can’t afford sanitary surprises. It has been reported that transit times (Crew Dragon’s multi‑day trips to the station, for example) push crews to “save” the real bathrooms for better-equipped destinations. So yes, engineers are tinkering with toilets — not glamorous, but essential. After all, if you want humans on Mars, you have to solve the little things as well as the big ones.

Sources: mceglowski.substack.com, Hacker News