Waste in space 茫茫太空中，宇航员怎么上厕所？

http://www.i21st.cn/story/512.html
Waste in space
茫茫太空中，宇航员怎么上厕所？
FROM 21st Century
PUBLISHED: 2009-06-01
导读：俗话说“人有三急”。在茫茫太空中，“内急”的宇航员们是怎么上厕所呢？太空厕所(space toilet)有什么特殊之处呢？
众所周知，由于地心引力的作用，在地球上人们能轻松地将体内的废物排出体外。
Going to the toilet is easy down here on Earth, because gravity pulls your solid and liquid wastes down, away from you.
然而，在宇宙这个无重力环境下，这些排泄物会到处乱飞，整个就像“天女散花”。
But in the gravity-free environment of space, waste tends to just float around.
自人类开始宇宙飞行至今，关于宇航员在外太空如何处理人体排泄物的问题，美国宇航局已经学到了不少知识。
Since the early days of the spaceflight, NASA has learned a lot about what to do with human waste while their astronauts are away from Mother Earth.
回首过去，据说首个“太空厕所”并不怎么舒服。
The very first "space toilet" was not that comfortable.
1961年5月5日，首位登上太空的美国宇航员艾伦-谢帕德在发射前不得以只能在宇航服内小便。
Alan Shepard, the first American to be put into space, had to pee inside his spacesuit just before the flight on May 5, 1961.
而如今，太空厕所看起来就和地球上的西式厕所没什么两样。
Now, space toilets look similar to the Western style toilets that people use on Earth.
但是，这种太空厕所并不冲水，而是像真空吸尘器一样将宇航员的排泄物吸走。
However, instead of flushing, they work like a vacuum cleaner sucking away the astronaut`s waste.
宇航员如果想要方便，首先要用固定带系在大腿上，把自己固定在马桶上，这样他们才不会飘走。
When nature calls, astronauts fasten their bodies to the toilet so that they won`t float away. They are held on by a bar across their thighs.
使用马桶的过程中，会有气流自座椅下的小孔不断吹入。这样一来，排泄物会被气流抽到马桶底部的一个袋中，固体部分被收集起来，空气则被过滤掉。
While the toilet is in use, it has a continuous flow of air blowing in through holes under the seat. This airflow pushes waste toward the bottom of the toilet, drawing it into a bag, holding solid waste, but letting the air through.
太空厕所中的小便池是男女通用的。
The urinal works for both men and women.
它实际上是个装有漏斗的软管，一端连到废水槽。宇航员无论站立还是坐着都可使用。
It`s a flexible hose with a funnel. It can be used whether you are sitting on the toilet or standing. The hose then travels to the waste water tank.
此外，尿液和大便的处理方式大不相同。
There are different ways of treating solid and liquid waste.
所有大便都将带回地球处理，而尿液则通常被抛到宇宙中。
All solid waste is brought back to Earth for treatment, while liquid waste is thrown out into space from time to time.
一位宇航员曾如此评价："没有什么比在夕阳下倾倒尿液更美的了。
" One astronaut had commented: "There is nothing as beautiful as a urine dump at sunset."
(Translator & Editor: sylvie AND 小胡)
阅读工具
gravity  地心引力
NASA 美国国家航空和航天管理局，美国宇航局
vacuum cleaner  真空吸尘器
astronaut  宇航员
urinal  小便池
funnel  漏斗