In space

September 14, 2000 2:42 PM

In space no one can hear you ... never mind.
posted by highindustrial (4 comments total)

This reminds me of the loving detail Arthur C. Clarke lavished on the "zero-g toilet" in his novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
posted by peterb at 3:24 PM on September 14, 2000

The astronauts have wanted a better toilet for years. The one on the shuttle has gone through at least two distinct generations of technology, and it's still uncomfortable and, ahem, "lossy". I think it's safe to say that never has so much R&D money been spent on an item that provides no mission benefits or scientific returns ...
posted by dhartung at 4:44 PM on September 14, 2000

Isn't the point that it stops any "scientific returns"?
posted by holgate at 4:48 PM on September 14, 2000

a seriously important issue none-the-less. think about it.

astronaut food looks not much different from when it is squeezed out of the tube to when it is squeezed out of the astronaut.

imagine, dinner time, a morsel floats by. do you eat it? well do ya?
posted by daddyray at 11:04 PM on September 17, 2000