When you've got to go, but you're out there in space, zipped up in a spacesuit, with no toilet in sight and a crew of other astronauts around, what do you do?
如果你在太空裹着宇航服时，迫切需要方便一下，但是周围看不到厕所又有一群宇航员在，你要怎么办呢？
NASA has launched a contest for inventors to solve this uncomfortable issue, and promises to award $30,000 to the best "space poop" solutions.
Inventors have until December 20 to submit designs for a personalized waste-wicking system that will handle everything, hands-free, for a period of up to six days.
"The old standby solution consisted of diapers," said the description of contest details at www.herox.com/SpacePoop.
"However, the diaper is only a very temporary solution, and doesn’t provide a healthy/protective option longer than one day."
Sometimes, astronauts have to wait even longer. The two men and one woman who packed themselves into a Russian Soyuz space capsule last week had to wait two full days between launching from Kazakhstan and arriving at the International Space Station.
Currently, while at the International Space Station, astronauts use a toilet contraption that includes a vacuum and a tube to help
evacuate fecal matter.
To urinate, they use a
funnel attached to a hose that can be adapted for a sitting or
standing position, and uses air to move urine away.
NASA
vowed to award up to three $30,000 prizes for the most
promising in-suit waste management systems.
The goal is to test them within a year and
fully implement them within three years.
相关单词：evacuate
evacuate解释：v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便
evacuate例句：
We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。
相关单词：funnel
funnel解释：n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集
funnel例句：
He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。
相关单词：standing
standing解释：n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
standing例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
相关单词：vowed
vowed解释：起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）
vowed例句：
He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。
相关单词：promising
promising解释：adj.有希望的，有前途的
promising例句：
The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
相关单词：fully
fully解释：adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
fully例句：
The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
相关单词：implement
implement解释：n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行
implement例句：
Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。
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