×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Sunday
03
May 2026
weather symbol
Athens 14°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

NASA is offering up to $20.000 to anyone who can design a better space toilet for astronauts sent to the Moon

"We need a toilet that needs to work for seven days on the surface of the moon, as well as during that transit time to and from the moon"

Newsroom June 25 06:37

The last time humans landed on the lunar surface, in December 1972, they were all basically wearing diapers.

That’s because NASA never really bothered to design a proper toilet for the Apollo moon missions. Instead, astronauts peed into roll-on cuffs, pooped into bags, and used space diapers when they ventured out of the spacecraft in their big bulky spacesuits.

“Defecation and urination have been bothersome aspects of space travel from the beginning of manned space flight,” said an official NASA report on the Apollo missions published in 1975.

Nearly five decades later, as the US prepares to launch astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024, the space agency is hoping to do things a little more comfortably.

“The astronauts were adamant that they do not want to go back to the Apollo bags,” Mike Interbartolo, who’s part of NASA’s lunar-lander engineering team, told Business Insider.

So this time around, NASA is crowdsourcing a new toilet design for the Artemis moon lander, launching a “Lunar Loo” contest on HeroX.

See Also:

Woman saves family from drowning while topless

>Related articles

Mytilene: Ferry connection between Lemnos and the port of Canakkale in Turkey begins

Rebrain Greece in London: “Greece 2026 offers significant professional opportunities”, Kerameos says

Economist: Piraeus and Elefsina at the heart of global port rivalry — The U.S.–China “naval battle”

“We need a toilet that needs to work for seven days on the surface of the moon, as well as during that transit time to and from the moon,” Interbartolo said.

That means the toilet system must be functional in both the microgravity of space and lunar gravity, which is about one-sixth Earth’s gravity. The toilet must also be usable for all astronauts, regardless of sex — something the first space bathrooms decidedly were not.

Read more: Business Insider

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#moon#nasa#prize#science#space#space travel#technology#toilets#world
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Stavros Papastavrou: We are implementing Greece’s largest public solar park in Western Greece

May 3, 2026

lululemon: From Vancouver to Voukourestiou Street

May 3, 2026

Mytilene: Ferry connection between Lemnos and the port of Canakkale in Turkey begins

May 3, 2026

Full Marc Poll for Proto Thema: Strong recovery for New Democracy after measures, Macron visit, and ahead of two new parties

May 3, 2026

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Definitive end to excessive compound interest — What borrowers gain from the new regulatory framework

May 3, 2026

Rebrain Greece in London: “Greece 2026 offers significant professional opportunities”, Kerameos says

May 3, 2026

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: An end to fine print and irregular practices for loans up to €100,000

May 3, 2026

26 ancient artifacts repatriated to Greece from seizures in the USA, see photos

May 3, 2026
All News

> Greece

In reverence, the emotional deposition in Jerusalem, see photos & video

The Holy Temple of the Resurrection opened after many days due to the war between Israel and Iran

April 10, 2026

In the final stretch for the accreditation of joint master’s degrees: Aiming for their launch in the coming academic year

April 10, 2026

Schedule for Epitaph Procession today (10/4)

April 10, 2026

Perfect weather for Easter excursions, according to Tsatrafyllia’s forecast

April 10, 2026

Easter in Greece: The customs that continue in Greek tradition – From Nafpaktos to Corfu

April 10, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα