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Next time you see a shooting star it could actually be astronaut poop

Home> Science> Space

Published 16:01 21 Dec 2023 GMT

Next time you see a shooting star it could actually be astronaut poop

In a TikTok video, a NASA employee explains how toilets works in the ISS and the surprising method for disposing of astronauts' waste.

Rebekah Jordan

Rebekah Jordan

We're all curious as to what it's like living in space.

From strange things happening to your body, to what happens when you have to go?

A recent TikTok video explains how toilets work in the International Space Station (ISS), and it's not your typical flush-and-forget scenario.

What's alarming viewers most is how the poop matter is disposed of. It's sucked out of the space station until it disintegrates in the atmosphere.

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In other words, those shooting stars we wish upon may not be all that shiny and cosmic. They may just be astronaut poop.

Astronaut waste gets launched into the atmosphere / Michael Dunning / Getty
Astronaut waste gets launched into the atmosphere / Michael Dunning / Getty

The NASA employee explained on her TikTok that ISS toilets work a little different to those on planet Earth.

First off, the toilet hole is way smaller than the toilets we're familiar with - a tiny 4 inches.

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She explained that 'astronauts have to go through training' to get used to the size of the hole before their space mission.

There's a camera inside the simulation toilet that's hooked up to a monitor in front of them so they can watch and learn how to 'properly align themselves on the toilet.'

Yeah, they watch themselves doing their thing.

She goes on to say that the worst part is that the 'trash on the ISS isn't taken out all the time.'

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When the 'silver can' does get full, astronauts have to put on a rubber glove and 'push the matter down.'

Astronauts are trained how to use the space toilet / quantic69 / Getty
Astronauts are trained how to use the space toilet / quantic69 / Getty

Now onto the moment you've been waiting for.

When the trash gets taken out, it's put into an unmanned supply ship and 'launched towards the atmosphere to burn up.'

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If you're wondering about the smell, Astronaut Chris Hadfield previously explained that: 'Everything that comes out of your body gets pulled out into the toilet by the air, and then in the storage tank, we just expose that to the vacuum of space.

'So it basically just freeze-dries everything, so it kills all the bacteria, so that there's no smell, and then we just store it.'

People in the comments are expressing a mix of amusement and surprise. One viewer said: 'We’re making wishes to flying poop.'

Whilst others feel slightly grossed out by the new information, like 'I will never look at a shooting star the same again' and 'you just ruined shooting stars for me...but priceless info.'

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So, the next time you make a wish upon a shooting star, remember it might not be all cosmic magic - you could just be wishing upon astronaut poop.

Featured Image Credit: Michael Dunning / Getty quantic69 / Getty
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