Featured Image Credit: NASA
Travelling to space is surely one of the craziest things you can do in your lifetime.
Although not everyone can have the opportunity to do so - you either need to be a space scientist or have tonnes of cash.
Former NASA astronaut José Moreno Hernández at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex about what it's really like during life in orbit.
Hernández was part of the 30th mission to the International Space Station (ISS) as a mission specialist on STS-128 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
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During the mission, he performed two spacewalks and helped deliver supplies and equipment to the ISS.
The first Mexican-American to travel to space shared a surprising test you have to pass before being allowed to blast off into space.
I know what you might be thinking, but it's not some intelligence or safety test to that degree.
It's simply a test of your toilet-aiming skills.
According to Hernández, urinating in space is relatively straightforward. All it requires is a ‘hose assembly thing’ that uses a vacuum pump to create artificial gravity.
But when it comes to doing a number two, things are much more complicated.
Astronauts can’t use a normal-sized toilet because it would need too large a motor to create artificial gravity NASA is always aiming to minimise size and weight where possible.
‘The toilet seat that’s this big [normal size], gets reduced to this big,’ Hernández mentioned as he made a tiny circle with his hands.
Thus, you better have good aim.
‘And I kid you not, there’s a class – we take potty 101,' he added.
‘You take a class on going to the restroom and they won’t check you off until you can do a number one and number two.’
Hernandez also shared other intriguing stories from his time as an astronaut including pranks that space scientists play on each other and the things messy eaters will have to be aware of.
For example, crumbs are a big no-no and you have to be careful of this when opening things like crisps or biscuits.
‘The first time you eat you tend to open up too many packets and they’re floating around, and you want to make sure they don’t get away from you as you’re eating,’ Hernández advised.
He quickly learnt his lesson saying that no one wants to be the one responsible for letting crumbs float into critical equipment.
