Women

Woman breaks down how astronauts pee and poop in space in viral thread.

Women deal with a lot of sexism and obstacles here on earth, so it makes sense that this sexism would follow them in to space. The first woman went into space in 1963, but it took another two decades for female astronauts to become common. Turns out there&#39;s a glass ceiling even outside of the earth&#39;s orbit.Apparently, there is a myth that NASA took so long to send women into space because of how women go to the bathroom?!Recently, author Mary Robinette Kowal published an essay called &ldquo;To Make It to the Moon, Women Have to Escape Earth&rsquo;s Gender Bias&quot; exploring the ways in which sexism here on earth prevented women from making strides in space. In response to her essay, she says several people claimed that &quot;women couldn&#39;t go into space because we lacked the technology for them to pee in space.&quot;In a Twitter thread that has gone viral, Kowal disproves this myth by breaking down the truth about how astronauts go to the bathroom in space.It has all the info. on peeing and pooping outside the earth&#39;s orbit that you never knew you always wanted.Let&#39;s talk about peeing in space. Several people, in response to my NY Times essay, have said that women couldn&#39;t go into space because we lacked the technology for them to pee in space.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 At first, she explains, doctors didn&#39;t think anyone, man or woman, would be able to pee without gravity.When the Mercury program was proposed, doctors were worried that people would not be able to urinate or even swallow without the aid of gravity. And yet, they still made plans to send a man into space.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 The first space mission was meant to take only 15 minutes so no arrangements for peeing were made. Of course, things did not go according to plan.When Alan Shepherd became the first American man to go into space, it was scheduled to be a fifteen-minute mission. Up. Hello space! Back down.They made no plans for peeing.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 So the first guy to go into space had a suit full of pee. What a trooper.Launchpad delays meant that Shepherd hit a point where he needed to go. Badly. He asked Mission Control for permission to go in his suit. After consultation with flight surgeons &amp; suit technicians, they gave him permission to do so.So he wet himself &amp; still went into space.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Then a condom-like apparatus was invented to catch the pee. It didn&#39;t work.Later, they solved this problem by developing a sheath, that looked much like a condom. It worked great in testing, but when the actual astronauts used it, the sheath kept blowing off and leaving them with pee in their suits.Was this about extended time in the spacesuit?&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Turns out, the reason it didn&#39;t work is that men were lying about the size of pee-condom they needed. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.The sheaths came in small, medium, and large. It turns out, the men were all saying that they needed a Large sheath.They did not.Subsequently, the astronauts called the sheaths were called &quot;Extra-large,&quot; &quot;Immense,&quot; and &quot;Unbelievable.&quot;&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 There was also a bag for poo. But this solution was flawed and there was still pee and poop in the space capsule. EW.They had to tape a bag to their ass to poop. That worked well for Gemini and Mercury. And by well, I mean there was still urine in the capsule and it stank of feces. Apollo needed a different solution.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 So a device was invented that would suck astronauts&#39; pee out into space. Take that, aliens!Alas, they still had to poop into a bag, but for peeing, they could slip on a condom attached to a valve, turn the valve and have their urine sucked into the vacuum of space.If you timed it right.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 This, too, was flawed. But at least it was pretty!Open the valve a fraction too late, and urine escaped to float around the cabin. Open it too early and the vacuum of space reached through the valve to grab your manhood.Apparently, the venting of pee into space is very pretty. It catches the sunlight and sparkles.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 So they switched back to pee-condoms.For the spacewalks, the Apollo astronauts were back to condoms that collected the pee in a bag in the suit. Buzz Aldrin was the second man on the moon, but the first to pee there.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Still, the pee-condoms solution was flawed. Remember when Fred Haise got sick in the movie Apollo 13? Well apparently it&#39;s because his genitals were bathing in pee.This detail for some reason didn&#39;t make it in to the movie.During Apollo13, everyone who has seen the movie knows that Fred Haise got sick. Do you know why, though?After the accident, they couldn&#39;t use the regular vent, because it needed to be heated to keep the pee from freezing.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 The alternate system caused droplets to float around the ship. Mission Control told them to stop dumping pee.It wasn&#39;t meant to be a permanent ban, but the crew didn&#39;t understand that. So they were stashing pee in every bag or container possible.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 The fastest option was to store it in the collection bags they wore in their suits. Haise kept his on for hours and hours, basically bathing in pee.He got a UTI and then a kidney infection.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 After decades of dudes going into space with pee-soaked genitals, NASA decided to send women into space. Finally!Now they needed to come up with a method for peeing in space that didn&#39;t involve pee-condoms, since women can&#39;t wear condoms. Their solution? A diaper.Finally, a decade later, NASA decides to send women into space. NOW they have a reason to come up with how to handle peeing in space if you don&#39;t have a penis.To launch and for a spacewalk, they developed the MAGMaximum Absorbency Garment.It&#39;s a diaper.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 They also got rid of the ass-bag and replaced it with a zero-gravity toilet!The men switched over to using those because it was more comfortable and less prone to leave pee floating around the cabin than the condom sheath.They also developed a zero-G toilet so that astronauts no longer had to tape a bag to their ass.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Even in 2019, peeing and pooping in space is not an easy process. Pooping in particular requires some, umm, involvement.Peeing or pooping in space is now a lengthy process, involving a fan, a targeting system, and a fair amount of prayer.Fun pooping in space fact: Without gravity, the poop doesn&#39;t break off as it exits your body. You have to reach back and help with special gloves.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Peeing is easier though. Until the toilet breaks down. Apparently that happens.Peeing is a little more straightforward. It&#39;s basically a funnel, a tube, a bag, and a fan for suction.Sometimes though, the toilet breaks down. At that point, they return to using &quot;relief bags&quot; taped to their ass and &quot;manual urine containment.&quot;&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Fun fact: these fun facts might make you nauseous.During a malfunction, it is also possible for a giant floating globe of pee to exit the toilet. Fun fact: Due to chemicals, it is bright purple and acidic. Fun fact: Poop regularly escapes, which is why you never eat a milk dud found floating in the ISS.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 In conclusion: we can stop blaming the slow advancement of women in space exploration on peeing and pooping.All of which is to say that the reason women didn&#39;t go into space had nothing to do with lacking the technology to pee.We didn&#39;t have the technology for men to pee in space when they started either. And some days, the best solution is still a diaper or a bag taped to the ass&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 It&#39;s not peeing and pooping&#39;s fault. Because peeing and pooping in space is a nightmare for everyone, regardless of your gender or genitalia. Now that&#39;s equality!After her thread went viral, Kowal was bombarded with questions about bodily functions in space. She answered them. SHE HAS ALL THE FACTS.Burping in space sounds painful.Addendum with some FAQs:What about Farting in space? - It does not propel you. Astronauts have tried.What about belching? - Gravity keeps food at the bottom of the stomach. Burps in space tend to be accompanied by solid matter&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Thank Goddess for tampons, especially if you&#39;re a female astronaut!What about periods in space? - According to women who have been there, &quot;It&#39;s just like a period on Earth.&quot;It turns out menstrual blood moves via a wicking action. Gravity can speed that up, but is unnecessary. Also, tampons exist.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Fun fact: men don&#39;t understand how periods work.Fun fact: When Sally Ride was preparing to go into space, NASA engineers asked her if 100 tampons would be the right number for a week.She said, &quot;No. That would not be the right number.&quot;They cut it back to 50...&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Astronauts need a schedule so they know when to go!Fun fact: Gravity creates most of the sense of urgency for peeing, so in microgravity, astronauts can&#39;t always tell when they need to go.It&#39;s such a complicated process that they pee on a schedule.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 There is a pee ritual involving a tire.Fun fact: When Yuri Gargarin was on his way to the launch pad, he realized the suit-up had taken so long that he needed to pee. He got out of the truck and peed on the tire.Every astronaut to launch from Baikonur since has done the same.Women squat or carry a vial of pee.&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 FUN FACT: BUY HER BOOK. Seriously though, this woman really knows her shit (and pee, tee hee).Self-promotion Disguised as a Fun Fact: In my novel #TheFatedSky, I have an ENTIRE CHAPTER about a zero-g toilet repair complete with spinning globe of urine.Alas, I had not yet learned that it should be bright purple so it is merely amber.https://t.co/8Yc58qJ2OX&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 Sometimes it is harder to be a man. Lol. (But only sometimes)FAQ: Erections in space? Officially, it&#39;s never happened.However, according to Mike Mullane in his book, Riding Rockets, he woke most mornings on the shuttle with his &quot;wooden puppet friend&quot;&quot;I had an erection so intense it was painful. I could have drilled through kryptonite.&quot;&mdash; Mary Robinette Kowal@🏡 (@MaryRobinette) July 19, 2019 THE MORE YOU KNOW.Never have I been more grateful for my decision to pursue comedy writing in lieu of space travel.

Women deal with a lot of sexism and obstacles here on earth, so it makes sense that this sexism would follow them in to space. The first woman went into space in 1963, but it took another two decades for female astronauts to become common....