Next time you spot a shooting star, keep in mind: It might be an astronaut. poop .
When Astronaut Scott Kelly spent a year at the International Space Station alongside Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, his physical condition underwent several unusual transformations. This mission aimed to investigate the impacts of prolonged space travel, lasting approximately double the typical duration for an ISS stay. An additional fascinating aspect of this research involved using Scott as the experimental subject in orbit, whereas his genetically identical sibling, also an astronaut named Mark Kelly, stayed on Earth serving as the baseline comparison.
Once the findings from the "Twins Study" were released, NASA did not feel let down. Scott Kelly’s telomeres got longer In space, then abbreviated upon returning to Earth—a possible indicator of stress and aging. He shed 7% of his body weight. Fluids comparable to several liters were lost. 2-liter bottle of soda tipsy from his toes up to his head and chest. The variety of microbes on him poop plummeted.
In the 2015-2016 mission, NASA additionally released various figures that undoubtedly caught people’s attention. toilet enthusiasts Among Us. Kelly consumed approximately 730 liters of water sourced from recycled urine and sweat, and he generated around 180 pounds of waste. Naturally, astronaut waste cannot simply be disposed of by flushing, as it needs special handling. space It has no sewage pipes. Rather, it is discarded alongside other waste from the space station. Eventually, it will burn up due to the intense heat during atmospheric re-entry, similar to how meteors disintegrate. like a meteor .
And, much like a meteor, that blazing sphere of waste will illuminate the sky similar to a shooting star. However, as NASA warns, "your excrement won't be turning into shooting stars." Thanks for dousing our hopes, NASA!
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A version of this story was released in 2019; it has since been refreshed for 2025.
This article was initially published on Massimaas What Happens to an Astronaut's Waste? .