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. <<span id="thread_page_1"> ....