NASA is closer to solving its space poop problem

NASA rewarded five people on Wednesday for their ideas for solving one of astronauts’ biggest problems: pooping in a spacesuit.

The honors came after the space agency, along with crowdsourcing platform HeroX, launched the Space Poop Challenge last October — a competition that asked the world to submit sanitary solutions for suits that astronauts wear up to 144 hours. More than 5,000 ideas were submitted by about 19,000 people.

“The response to the Space Poop Challenge exceeded all of our expectations,” Steve Rader, NASA Tournament Lab deputy director, said in a statement. “The level of participation and interest went far beyond what we expected for such a short competition.”

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