The Lunar Loo Challenge is a competition in which competitors design toilets for use on the surface of the Moon. Indeed, space toilets can only be used in microgravity. A young 9-year-old Malaysian distinguished himself with his surprising concept.
In recent months, the United States Space Agency (NASA) has seemed very concerned about toilets. In June 2020, we mentioned the fact that the International Space Station (ISS) was going to host a new toilet system. This is an improved concept within the framework of Exploration and Colonization Projects of the Moon and the planet Mars. Same thing for the Orion capsule whose toilets currently smell too strong.
NASA is also behind the Lunar Loo Challenge, a very special competition. The objective here is indeed to design toilets to be used on the surface of the Moon . Remember that current space toilets only work in microgravity. As the daily Malay Mail explains in an article of November 5, 2020, the competition rewarded Pei Yong Tan, a young Malaysian of only 9 years old! The young boy is behind the Spacesuit Lunar Toilet , an amazing concept.
According to Pei Yong Tan, the Spacesuit Lunar Toilet is a device that equips astronauts' suits. The fact is that it is not necessary to remove the suit to meet his needs. In microgravity, the device works by using vacuum to siphon liquid. The kinetic mechanical power therefore makes it possible to do without an electricity supply.
Most importantly, the device also works in lunar gravity thanks to a manual mechanical kinetic concept. The astronaut only needs to move his leg to activate the suction function. In addition, waste is storaged in a small bin located in the suit. The young inventor evokes the presence of a syringe pump at the level of the boot and of a vacuum container at the level of the trouser pocket.
According to Pei Yong Tan, his concept is an improvement of spacesuits that astronauts used during the Apollo 11 mission, which allowed the arrival of the first men on the Moon. At the time, astronauts urinated into a condom-shaped cuff the latter emptying into a bag. Nevertheless, the invention was not perfect and NASA often complained about leaks.
The Lunar Loo Challenge therefore awarded first place to Pei Yong Tan, so the Spacesuit Lunar Toilet could possibly be part of the Artemis program to send humans to the Moon in 2024. The performance of the young boy impresses all the more as those responsible for the competition received no less than 900 projects from 85 countries. Nevertheless, he is not the only winner in the under-11 category. The Malaysian will indeed share his prize with Joel John Arun, a young Briton behind the Artemis Easy Loo (AEL) concept.
