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There was a system designed to handle urine. It consisted of the crew slipping a condom-like device over their penis. The sleeve had a tube in the tip that was connected to a system that would collect the urine and, when the astronaut was done, would release the urine into space.

For solid waste, the crew had a bag similar in shape to a top hat with an adhesive brim. The crew would literally stick the bag to their posterior, defecate, and then remove and seal the bag. There were capsules inside the bag that had a chemical similar to the blue "water" in airplane lavatories today. The astronaut, after sealing the bad, would burst the capsules and then had to massage the chemical into the solid waste in order to kill the bacteria. They then stored the solid waste bags on board.


Obviously, as the process of defecation was unpleasant for all on board, the crew ate a diet, known as a low-residue diet, that minimized their solid waste. Some crew managed to last the entire mission without having to defecate.

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