Unlike road trips here on Earth where you can stop to fuel up, get some food and most importantly, relieve yourself (yes, we are talking about Number One AND Number Two!), gravity poses a challenge for astronauts in Space.
Bearing this in mind, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched a Lunar Loo Challenge 2020. The Artemis programme which is set to land the first woman and next man on the moon in 2024, plans to reduce the weight of the toilet from 54kg to 15kg. That’s not all, the invention has to operate effectively in both lunar gravity (gravity on the Moon) and microgravity conditions (i.e. where gravity seems to be very small and astronauts appear to be weightless).
Source: Screenshot from YouTube/HeroX
Thanks to 9-year-old Malaysian, Zyson Kang Zy Sun and his gravity-defying invention, space travellers can now answer the call of nature more conveniently! According to the official list of junior winners on herox.com, his invention, the Spacesuit Lunar Toilet, beat 900 other participants from around the world and shares the number 1 spot with Joel John Arun who created the Artemis Easy Loo (AEL).
The Spacesuit Lunar Toilet which can fit into an astronaut’s suit operates without any battery or source of electricity. The microgravity in space works to create a vacuum to suck up liquids. All an astronaut has to do is just move his or her leg to activate the vacuum effect!
Check out the demo by Zyson in the video below.
Source: YouTube/ZYSON’s InnoCreation
Zyson also mentioned that the Spacesuit Lunar Toilet could be used by medical professionals without removing their PPE suits.
His coach, 43-year-old Chong Soo Sheong regards Zyson’s love for science and his curiosity that eventually led him to create such an amazing invention. Having coached Zyson at the I-Discovery World science centre, the invention only took Zyson three months to complete (such a brilliant young fella!)
Well done, Zyson! You are truly inspirational 🙂
