9-year-old boy invents spacesuit toilet for astronauts

Zyson Kang Zy Sun, a 9-year-old Malaysian boy has finally solved the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s zero gravity toilet dilemma.

Zyson’s design the “Spacesuit Lunar Toilet” will easily fit into an astronaut’s spacesuit and use microgravity in space to create a vacuum that sucks up liquid.

Currently, astronauts eliminate waste by wearing a large, absorbent diaper called a Maximum Absorption Garment (MAG) in their space suits. The MAG will collect their urine and feces during their spacewalks.

While astronauts using the device designed by Zyson will only need to move their legs and press on a syringe attached to their boots. The eliminated waste will be channeled into a container stored in their boots through a suction force.

Zyson’s design won the top prize at the Nasa’s Lunar Loo Challenge 2020 in the Junior Category beating over 897 participants from 85 countries.

NASA announced the Lunar Loo Challenge design competition to find the perfect toilet solution for the microgravity of space and the moon, before its planned mission to the moon ‘Artemis’ in 2024, 50 years after the first successful moon landing.

According to Chong Soo Sheong, 43, who coaches him at the I-Discovery World science centre, Zyson started on the project in June and submitted his model to the NASA’s Lunar Loo panel of judges in August for evaluation.

“On October 29, NASA invited him to present his model at a webinar. The NASA team was impressed by the simplicity of his model,” Chong said.

Chong added that Zyson is an avid reader with an extremely curious mind. He is always excited to learn science especially astronomy and had a knack for inventions.

The spacesuit toilet can also be useful to medical personnel’s in emergency situations such as those who handle COVID-19 patients, who will need to remove their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) if they need to use the toilet.

“Zyson’s compact toilet model will allow doctors and nurses to catch their toilet breaks during an emergency without having to change or remove their PPE gowns.” Chong explains.