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Physiology & Medicine / Re: Could you urinate on the moon?
« on: 18/10/2015 18:20:23 »
They don't put any more gas in space suits than they need to, because inflating them makes them difficult to band.
So they are often run at about 0.2 atmospheres pressure of oxygen (and without any nitrogen).
So the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the suit is about 150 mmHg.
It's possible to have blood pressure that high
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension
and survive without all your bits bursting.
In fact, if you are 2 metres tall (that's near the upper range for people but not impossible) the difference in pressure between you head and your feet is in the same ballpark as the pressure they inflate space suits to.
So, it's just about possible that you could get by with a pee tube.
However, it still seems to me to be one of the few circumstances where a nappy would look like a good idea.
So they are often run at about 0.2 atmospheres pressure of oxygen (and without any nitrogen).
So the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the suit is about 150 mmHg.
It's possible to have blood pressure that high
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension
and survive without all your bits bursting.
In fact, if you are 2 metres tall (that's near the upper range for people but not impossible) the difference in pressure between you head and your feet is in the same ballpark as the pressure they inflate space suits to.
So, it's just about possible that you could get by with a pee tube.
However, it still seems to me to be one of the few circumstances where a nappy would look like a good idea.
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