The deadline is approaching: the return of American astronauts to the Moon is scheduled for 2026. But what will be done with their excrement there? The question may raise a smile, but it is absolutely not insignificant. In an article published on June 25, 2024, Wired points out that the issue of excrement on the Moon is a real challenge for which NASA still has no solution, while time is running out.
The subject is certainly not new. The Apollo program, which ended in 1972, ended by leaving 96 bags of waste on the Moon, including the urine and excrement of lunar explorers. It might even be relevant to take advantage of new explorations to go and collect these human excrements on the Moon.
Bags of excrement on the Moon? A bygone solution
But what about droppings during future Artemis program missions? Since the objective is to bring humans back to the Moon permanently, the solution of trash bags thrown on the surface seems to be a thing of the past. NASA will not be able to avoid the thorny issue of eliminating its crews’ excrement.
The first photo taken on the surface of the Moon shows the astronauts’ trash bag. // Source: Wikimedia/AS11-40-5850 (cropped photo)
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Photo credits for image of one: Apollo 15 mission. // Source: Flickr/CC/NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (cropped image)
