NASA is offering $35,000 in prizes for anyone who can design a toilet that can be used on the Moon. The specs are demanding, reports CNN Business.
The toilet must be functional in the microgravity of space and the 1/6G of the Moon.
It must accommodate men and women.
It should should conserve water, a scarce and valuable resource, and “help maintain a pristine environment inside the lander that is free of odors and other contaminants,”
The toilet should be easy to clean and maintain.
Serving a crew of two astronauts for 14 days, the toilet should allow for a turnaround time of five minutes or less between uses.
It should use less than 70 watts of power, make less noise than the average bathroom fan, weigh less than 33 pounds, and take up less than .12 cubic meters in volume.
Bonus points will be awarded to designs that can capture vomit without requiring crew members to put their heads in the toilet, the NASA guidelines says.
NASA says it may use the toilet design for its Artemis lunar lander.