Astronaut Diapers

[RMS401]

So, if you had unlimited funds--like NASA--and wanted to build a better adult diaper, what would it look like? Padded biker shorts, as it turns out! I don't know what they cost, and it seems they're no longer made, but they are now the Holy Grail of diapers.

When women began flying in space on the early shuttle missions in 1983-1986, they wore a Disposable Absorption Containment Trunk or DACT. "Obviously the male solution for urination wouldn't work for women so instead of plastic bags this approach relied on absorbent padding," Neal says. "The DACT was a comfortable undergarment that looked like a biker short, with a zipper on one side, and a softly padded rump and centerline with a leakproof outer layer."

In 1988 women astronauts switched to commercial-style disposable absorbent underwear, which NASA called MAGs or Maximum Absorbent Garments. Male astronauts began to try them too, based on women's reports of their comfort and effectiveness. "The female astronauts decided to have a look at disposable diapers because they didn't leak and they were more comfortable," Neal says. "MAGs (or SuperMAGs) are worn during spacewalks, when astronauts work outside for up to 8 hours at a stretch."

So how do they work? “The diapers they use today are a modified adult diaper, except you just pull it up like a pair of shorts,” Sindelar said. "Inside there is a chemical [sodium polyacrylate] that can absorb about 1,000 times its weight in water. The powdery material is woven into the fabrics of the diaper itself so when the astronaut uses the restroom, the liquid is absorbed into the fabric and the diaper pulls it away from the skin.” (“The astronauts are usually going to go No. 1 in the diaper and save the other stuff for when they are on board," she added.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17034568/site/newsweek/

-RMS

[babydoc]

Thank you for the update and link to an interesting story. Wonder what the next approach will be on flights to earth orbit, the moonand beyond?

[InDpnds]

I kind of like the way those "padded bike shorts" look. I would like to wear one myself! They really look kind of cool. But I'm sure producing them for us "earth-bound people" would be prohibitively expensive. So maybe someday - who knows? After all, the first Depends (belted), or at least the technology to develop them were first used for space travel, at least so I've heard. If anyone has any updates or corrections, please let us know.

[Guest]

So, if you had unlimited funds--like NASA--and wanted to build a better adult diaper, what would it look like? Padded biker shorts, as it turns out! I don't know what they cost, and it seems they're no longer made, but they are now the Holy Grail of diapers.

When women began flying in space on the early shuttle missions in 1983-1986, they wore a Disposable Absorption Containment Trunk or DACT. "Obviously the male solution for urination wouldn't work for women so instead of plastic bags this approach relied on absorbent padding," Neal says. "The DACT was a comfortable undergarment that looked like a biker short, with a zipper on one side, and a softly padded rump and centerline with a leakproof outer layer."

In 1988 women astronauts switched to commercial-style disposable absorbent underwear, which NASA called MAGs or Maximum Absorbent Garments. Male astronauts began to try them too, based on women's reports of their comfort and effectiveness. "The female astronauts decided to have a look at disposable diapers because they didn't leak and they were more comfortable," Neal says. "MAGs (or SuperMAGs) are worn during spacewalks, when astronauts work outside for up to 8 hours at a stretch."

So how do they work? “The diapers they use today are a modified adult diaper, except you just pull it up like a pair of shorts,” Sindelar said. "Inside there is a chemical [sodium polyacrylate] that can absorb about 1,000 times its weight in water. The powdery material is woven into the fabrics of the diaper itself so when the astronaut uses the restroom, the liquid is absorbed into the fabric and the diaper pulls it away from the skin.” (“The astronauts are usually going to go No. 1 in the diaper and save the other stuff for when they are on board," she added.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17034568/site/newsweek/

-RMS

I wonder if an astronaut can opt to wear MAGs the who time.

[thekid1]

i think one of the astronauts in the USA space program was incontinent i could be wrong tho.