Inside the Secret, Surprising Challenges of Astronauts’ Bathroom Breaks in Space
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins repeated this anecdote in his 1974 autobiography Carrying the Fire: an Astronaut’s Journeys, writing that:
“…Then it’s time to don a triangular yellow plastic urine bag by inserting the penis into a rubber receiver built into one corner of it. There are three sizes of receivers (small, medium, large), which are always referred to in more heroic terms: extra large, immense, and unbelievable.”
In reality, this sizing system seems to have been merely an informal joke among the astronauts rather than a psychological trick played by NASA. Indeed, whatever their preconceptions and insecurities, the astronauts quickly learned from experience what size of sleeve to use, as Apollo 9 astronaut Russell “Rusty” Schweickart later recalled:
“There’s always the possibility that in maneuvering around in a suit you can end up pulling off the condom, and there’s always — we have three sizes you know, small, medium and large — in diameter, and there’s always this little ego thing about which one you do pick. Of course the smart guy picks the right size, because it’s very important. But what happens is, if you get too small a size it effectively pinches off the flow and you just turn yellow because you can’t go; and if, on the other hand you’ve got an ego problem and you decide on a large when you should have a medium, what happens is you take your first leak and you end up with half of the urine outside the bag on you. And that’s the last time you make that mistake. So it’s a cute little trick there.”
Whatever the case, McBarron’s UCD was first used during the February 20, 1962 Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, during which astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. Over the course of his three orbits, Glenn used his UCD once, depositing 756 millilitres of urine into the collection bag. Remarkably, this is over 30% greater than the capacity of the average male bladder – a result of the strange effects of microgravity on human physiology. Normally, gravity pulls urine towards the bottom of the bladder, causing the walls to gradually expand. When the bladder is approximately two-thirds full, nerves begin to register this expansion and signal the body that it is time to urinate. In microgravity, however, urine tends to collect in a sphere, and does not begin to press on the walls until the bladder is already far beyond its regular capacity. While overshadowed by his other achievements, in its own modest way John Glenn’s orbital whiz was a milestone in space systems engineering – which is probably why his UCD has been on public display at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. since 1970.
Though sometimes prone to leakage if improperly sized or fitted, James McBarron’s UCD design became the NASA standard throughout the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. During flights to and from the moon, Apollo astronauts could connect their UCDs via a hose to a Urine Transfer System or UTS, which collected the urine in an onboard tank. Most of this urine was then vented overboard, but some was retained for analysis by flight surgeons after the mission. And when the astronauts were working on the lunar surface, the urine drained into a polyethylene bag worn under their spacesuits. Amusingly, while only second to step off the Lunar Module, Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin did achieve a space first of his own, becoming the first person to relieve themselves on the lunar service. The act, performed just before Aldrin stepped off the Lunar Module ladder, remains a minor a source of pride for the astronaut, with Aldrin later stating:
“Everyone has their firsts on the moon, and that one hasn’t been disputed by anybody.”
Unfortunately, however, the experience was somewhat less tidy than Aldrin might have hoped. Mission commander Neil Armstrong’s landing was so soft that the Lunar Module’s legs didn’t compress as much as expected. So when Aldrin jumped off the ladder onto the lunar surface, he fell farther than anticipated and the resulting jolt damaged his UCD, causing urine to collect not in the proper bag, but rather in one of Aldrin’s spacesuit boots. That’s right: throughout the mission’s historic 2 hour, 31 minute lunar EVA, Buzz Aldrin was walking around with urine sloshing around in his boot. We’ve all been there, Buzz…
The UCD remained in use into the early Space Shuttle program, when it was replaced by the Disposable Absorption Containment Trunk or DACT – effectively an advanced set of adult diapers. The DACT was developed in response to NASA’s 1978 opening of the astronaut corps to female candidates, whose anatomy was incompatible with the original UCD. They were first flown in space on April 4, 1983 by the all-male crew of STS-6, the first mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger, while two months later on June 18 they were worn by the United States’ first female astronaut, Sally Ride, during the STS-7 mission. However, NASA quickly realized that the custom-fabricated DACTs were not economical, and that it would be far more cost-effective to purchase commercial off-the-shelf adult diapers. Known as Maximum Absorbency Garments or MAGs, these units replaced the DACT starting in 1988 and contain enough sodium polyacrylate material to absorb two litres of urine or other bodily fluids. They are still worn by American astronauts under their launch entry suits during liftoff and reentry and under their Extravehicular Mobility Units or EMUs during extravehicular activities or “spacewalks” – and for more about the surprising engineering challenges of working out in the hostile vacuum of space, please check out our previous video Touching the Void: the Story of the Space Jet Pack.
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