https://herox.com/SpacePoop/guidelines The challenge: Competition to source a system that routes and collects human waste away from the body, hands-free, for fully suited astronauts. Challenge Overview The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seeks proposed solutions for urine, fecal and menstrual management systems to be used in the crew’s launch and entry suits over a continuous duration of up to 144 hours. An in-suit waste management system would be beneficial for contingency scenarios or for any long duration tasks. Waste management systems should address fecal, urine, and/or menstrual waste management in a pressurized survival suit environment for six days while protecting the safety and health of crew members. Solutions should provide for urine collection of up to 1L per day per crew member, for a total of 6 days. Fecal collection rates should be targeted for 75 grams of fecal mass and 75 mL fecal volume per crewmember per day for a total of 6 days duration. Menstrual collection systems should handle up to 80 mL over 6 days. NASA will award the Solutions it judges to be the most promising for implementation and use on missions in the next three or four years. NASA will consider collaborating with winners and/or other competitors, subject to NASA rules and regulations for contract procurement. Background Spaceflight launch and entry suits are worn for launch and entry activities to protect the crew from any off-nominal events. Up until now, a crew member could be in their launch and entry suit for more than 10 hours at a time leading up to either a launch or landing scenario, and former astronauts have worn diapers in case they need to relieve themselves. The diaper is only used temporarily until the crew has successfully launched from or returned to Earth. It is eventually removed along with the launch and entry suit. more at link....... https://herox.com/SpacePoop/guidelines
Storing stools in waste containers to be ejected as part of re-entry would obviously be optimal, using the vacuum of space to suck solid waste into storage areas shielded from solar heating. Shades of Thunderpants. Who says sanitation engineering isn't a challenging and engaging profession? Not to mention a buildup of earwax and mucous from colds or even blood from micrometeorite impacts. Still want to be an astronaut? How many extended space missions have gone down without giving this issue very much engineering thought? What systems did they use on MIRS or the ISS? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_toilet Messy. A super absorbent undergarment equipped with a removable canister of scrolling and detachable waste wipes might work better than a zero g toilet. Not everyone on the ground can even agree on what constitutes a sustainable or hygenic system of waste removal.
