NASA does not say how long such an inconvenient return from the ISS will last.
During the return from the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon capsule owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, a group of four astronauts will not be able to use the toilet.
This was reported by CNN with reference on NASA Commercial Crew program manager Steve Stitch.
According to him, astronauts will have to “rely on underwear” during the flight from the ISS to Earth.
NASA does not say how long four astronauts – Americans Shane Kimbrough and Megan MacArthur, Frenchman Thomas Pesce from the European Space Agency and Akihiko Hoshida from Japan – will have to dress aboard the Crew Dragon capsule with a non-working toilet. So far, only two such spacecraft with people on board have returned from the ISS – the first trip lasted 19 hours, and the second only six.
The time will depend on several factors, including how the orbital dynamics and the weather will affect the return flight, but Steve Stich has given assurances that NASA will work to minimize the time from docking to landing on this flight.
Problems with the spacecraft's toilet were discovered last month: a tube that pumps urine in a storage tank, peeled off, which led to a leak.
Recall that in Israel, conventional astronauts spent three weeks in conditions close to life on Mars.
