SpaceX crew forced to use diapers due to toilet leak on return to Earth

Due to a faulty toilet in their SpaceX spacecraft, astronauts leaving the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday will have to travel in diapers on the way back home. The scenario is "suboptimal," but they can manage, according to Nasa astronaut Megan McArthur, who will be returning. McArthur stated from orbit during a press conference that spaceflight is full of lots of hurdles. According to her, this is just another obstacle in their objective that they will have to deal with.

Mission managers decided to call back McArthur and the rest of her crew to Earth after a series of discussions on Friday. Bad weather and an undisclosed medical concern involving one of the crew had forced SpaceX to call the crew back to earth. The last six months have been stressful, according to French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who will return with McArthur. The astronauts completed a series of spacewalks to update the station's power grid.

Broken toilets force SpaceX astronauts to wear diapers on return to earth

They discovered the toilet leak when they pulled up panels in their capsule and saw puddles of pee. A tube came unglued during SpaceX's private mission in September, spilling pee beneath the flooring. Engineers found that the urine had not harmed the capsule's structural integrity and that it was safe to ride back in. The astronauts will have to rely on "absorbent undergarments," as described by Nasa.

According to McArthur, the astronauts planted the first chilli peppers in space, giving them 'a great morale boost.' In the last week, they were able to try some of their crops by making tacos using green and red pepper chunks. She also said that it has a nice spice to them, with a little bit of a lasting burn.

On 23rd of April, SpaceX sent 4 astronauts into orbit

Shane Kimbrough, a Nasa astronaut, and Akihiko Hoshide, a Japanese astronaut, will also be returning with McArthur and Pesquet. On the 23rd of April, SpaceX sent them into orbit. Their capsule has been certified to stay in space for a total of 210 days. Their 196th day in the air was on Friday. Following their departure from the space station, one American and two Russians will remain on board.

(Inputs from AP News)

(Image: Instagram/@thom_astro)