Name: How do astronauts use the bathroom in space?
Uploaded: 2026-04-02T01:09:26.420Z
Duration: 2 min 19 s
Description: The science and technology behind using the restroom in space continues to evolve. CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave looks at the out-of-this-world facilities available to the Artemis II crew.

The science and technology behind using the restroom in space continues to evolve. CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave looks at the out-of-this-world facilities available to the Artemis II crew.

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CBS News reports on the advancements in restroom technology for astronauts, tracing the evolution from early misunderstandings—such as the excessive provision of menstrual products for Sally Ride—to the sophisticated systems now used on spacecraft like Orion. The Orion toilet uses a vacuum system to collect waste, with urine stored and vented overboard, and fecal matter compressed and filtered to control odor before being returned to Earth.

In the event of a toilet malfunction, astronauts rely on specially designed bags to collect waste, ensuring hygiene and safety are maintained. All crew members share responsibility for waste management, reflecting the collaborative nature of life in space.

How do astronauts use the bathroom in space?

Before Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983, NASA engineers unfamiliar with menstruation suggested Packing her a hundred tampons for a seven-day mission. Other members of the agency eventually deemed the amount Excessive and reduced the amount of menstrual products she took, with the story later becoming a funny anecdote. Today the science and tech behind Using the restroom in space continues to evolve. CBS News senior transportation correspondent Chris Van Cleve has a special look at the out-of-this-world facilities available to the crew. I'm with Paul Bain. He oversees life support and crew systems on board the capsule. Well, I think one of the things everybody's wondering is how does the bathroom work? So the toilet in Orion is located in this bay here underneath the side hatch and Essentially it works very similar principle to the shuttle toilet that we used to have on that vehicle. It works by a vacuum, pulls a suction for against the crew member for urination and fecal matter and Essentially that is how we remove the waste from the crew. Where does the waste go? So we have a tank that will collect the urine and we store that inside the vehicle for a little while and then we vent it overboard and then The fecal matter is actually collected in a can and then they compress that down put a cap on it It has filters so it doesn't smell And we basically will end up bringing all that home with us. Do they rock-paper-scissors for whose job that is? I think they all like I mean they all take care of it because they have to do you know, you're all in it together What happens if the toilet stops working? So we've actually talked about that a lot from that would seem like a major problem. It'd be an upsetting day Yes, and so we actually have gone through Some scenarios on what do we do for that? so we created a special bag that the crew members can use to urinate into and it allows it to drain the urine from the crew member and then we can vent that bag overboard the the Fecal matter same principle and you just go into the bag and collapse it up and put it into the can again Well, thank you back to you Chris Van Cleve, thank you and now, you know

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