Crew-2 Astronauts Will Have to Use Undergarments For Waste Management As Toilet in SpaceX's Dragon is Off-Limits

In September, a problem with SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour was reported when a urine leak in the toilet happened. Science Times previously reported that a tube delivering urine from the bathroom burst in the spacecraft's cabin floor that spilled its contents to its waste management system fans.

As Crew-2 mission astronauts are set to return to Earth, NASA says that the toilet aboard SpaceX Dragon is off-limits because of the issues with fluids in the Inspiration4 mission. They noted that there are other means to allow personal waste management of the crew.

Undergarments for Waste Management

According to Space.com, the other means NASA was referring to was using "undergarments" that have been long used by astronauts to relieve themselves when clad in spacesuits during launches, landings, and spacewalks.

NASA's Commercial Crew program manager Steve Stitch said that the undergarment in the suit can be used by the crew anytime during the short mission of coming home from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth. He added that it has been used as a backup for any spaceflight.

The Crew-2 mission astronauts returning to Earth are NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and Meghan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet. NASA said that the four astronauts were launched to the ISS in April and are expected to come back on November 4.

However, their landing date might change because the relief mission, Crew-3, was delayed to November 2 due to bad weather. Crew-2 mission astronauts will return after a handover with Crew-3 mission astronauts.

ALSO READ: SpaceX's New Crew Dragon Capsule Named 'Endurance' Will Kick-Off Crew-3 Mission

Crew-3 Mission

SpaceX and NASA are focused on the launch of the Crew-2 mission next week from Pad39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a scheduled liftoff at 1:10 AM EDT.

EarthSky reported that the crew will stay at the space station for six months and will perform hundreds of experiments. This includes new medical research that will give insight into how space affects astronauts in longer duration space travel to the Moon, Mars, and other planets. They are also going to conduct experiments on the enhanced spaceflight diet on astronaut health.

The mission will launch three NASA astronauts namely Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and one ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endurance.

Dragon Toilets: SpaceX's Latest Engineering Challenge

After the urine leak in Inspiration4's mission, SpaceX is reportedly trying to fix some troubles in their Dragon capsules before launching the Crew-3 mission astronauts.

Time magazine shared that the company and NASA are making sure that any toilet leaks will not compromise the launching of the new Dragon capsule next week or the one Crew-2 mission will use to get back to Earth.

SpaceX has welded on the urine-flushing tube in the new Dragon capsule, but NASA is not yet finished reviewing the last-minute fix. Raja Chari, one of the astronauts on the Crew-3 mission, said that he has complete confidence in the repairs, especially because the company has quickly jumped on the issue and hundreds of people have worked on it to ensure their safety.