Space Poopin’

As NASA completes its final shuttle mission, we thought it would be fun to look back at this training manual from the Apollo program. Ever wondered how an astronaut pooped in zero gravity? Here’s your answer.

The garment worn at all times by an Apollo Astronaut. Looks comfy, right?

This environmental control system doesn’t look at all complicated.

The launch escape system. Basically, you didn’t want to have to use this.

Apollo Survival Kit & Components. You don’t want to have to use this, either.

This really makes me want to know what kind of mission experiments they were planning on conducting. (See the image in the lower left corner. You definitely want to click to expand this one.)

Land here.

The great toilet in the sky.

And finally, how to poop in space. This looks horrifying.

All images come from the reading room of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. It’s well worth a visit.