如果奔赴火星途中你裹在宇航服中，可是你又迫切需要“解決問題”，怎么辦呢？現(xiàn)實(shí)中，宇航員們就因?yàn)榇┲孔镜挠詈椒鵁o法接觸自己的身體，加上完全失重狀態(tài)下排泄物很難清理，因此，在太空上廁所成了一大難問題。近日，美國航空航天局（NASA）拿出3萬美元，用以獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)能切實(shí)解決“太空排泄”難題的人。

When you've got to go, but you're out there in space, zipped up in a spacesuit, with no toilet in sight and a crew of other astronauts around, what do you do?
如果你在太空裹著宇航服時(shí)，迫切需要方便一下，但是周圍看不到廁所又有一群宇航員在，你要怎么辦呢？

NASA has launched a contest for inventors to solve this uncomfortable issue, and promises to award $30,000 to the best "space poop" solutions.
為了解決“太空排便”這個(gè)讓人難受的問題，美國宇航局發(fā)起了一場發(fā)明征集賽，最佳方案可以獲得3萬美金獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。

Inventors have until December 20 to submit designs for a personalized waste-wicking system that will handle everything, hands-free, for a period of up to six days.
參與者需在12月20日前遞交個(gè)性化的排泄物處理系統(tǒng)，該方案要能夠解決所有問題、不用手且持續(xù)周期最多為6天。

"The old standby solution consisted of diapers," said the description of contest details at www.herox.com/SpacePoop.
www.herox.com/SpacePoop網(wǎng)站在比賽細(xì)則中描述道，“老辦法是用尿布。”

"However, the diaper is only a very temporary solution, and doesn’t provide a healthy/protective option longer than one day."
“然而，這只是一個(gè)臨時(shí)解決方案，尿布使用超過一天就沒辦法保證健康和防護(hù)性。”

Sometimes, astronauts have to wait even longer. The two men and one woman who packed themselves into a Russian Soyuz space capsule last week had to wait two full days between launching from Kazakhstan and arriving at the International Space Station.
有時(shí)候，宇航員甚至要等得更久。上周，兩名男性和一名女性進(jìn)入了俄羅斯聯(lián)盟號(hào)太空艙，從太空艙在哈薩克斯坦發(fā)射起到抵達(dá)國際空間站，期間他們必須等待兩天。

U.S. astronaut Kate Rubins, left, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, centre, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi

The Soyuz is equipped with a portable toilet, which looks like an air-powered pee jug.
“聯(lián)盟號(hào)”配備了便攜式廁所，它看起來像是一個(gè)空氣動(dòng)力小便壺。

On future missions to deep space destinations like an asteroid or Mars, NASA suspects it could take up to 144 hours, or six days, to get to a proper toilet.
未來太空任務(wù)的目的地是小行星或是火星之類更遠(yuǎn)的地方，美國宇航局猜測，宇航員們可能要堅(jiān)持6天才能找到一個(gè)合適的廁所。

In emergency situations, astronauts may need to zip themselves into a fully pressurized, bulky orange spacesuit, complete with helmet and gloves.
在緊急情況下，宇航員可能需要將自己包裹在完全加壓的、配有頭盔和手套的笨重橙色宇航服中。

"While sealed, it is impossible for an astronaut to access their own body, even to scratch their nose," NASA said.
“因?yàn)橛詈椒敲芊獾模杂詈絾T不可能觸碰到自己的身體，他們連自己的鼻子都摸不到。”

That's where the inventors come in. Astronauts need some way to clear away urine, fecal matter and menstrual blood efficiently, or they risk infection.
這正是需要發(fā)明家的地方。宇航員需要有效清除尿液、糞便以及經(jīng)血的方法，否則就有感染的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

The problem is that in weightlessness, fluids can blob up and stick to surfaces, while solids float in the air.
問題是，在失重狀態(tài)下液體變成水珠浮于表面，而固體會(huì)漂浮在空中。

"You don't want any of these solids and fluids stuck to your body for six days," NASA said, recalling how easy babies can get diaper rash.
美國宇航局表示，“你不會(huì)想要任何這類固體和液體在身上停留6天時(shí)間。”這讓人聯(lián)想到嬰兒很容易得尿布疹。

Currently, while at the International Space Station, astronauts use a toilet contraption that includes a vacuum and a tube to help evacuate fecal matter.
目前，宇航員在國際空間站使用的廁所裝置包含幫助輸導(dǎo)糞便的真空泵和管道。

To urinate, they use a funnel attached to a hose that can be adapted for a sitting or standing position, and uses air to move urine away.
他們小便時(shí)使用一個(gè)漏斗，這個(gè)漏斗連接的軟管，使得坐姿或站姿都可使用，并通過空氣將尿液清除。

NASA vowed to award up to three $30,000 prizes for the most promising in-suit waste management systems.
美國宇航局承諾，對(duì)最出色的宇航服內(nèi)部排污管理系統(tǒng)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)3萬美元，最多獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)三人。

The goal is to test them within a year and fully implement them within three years.
他們的目標(biāo)是在一年內(nèi)測試系統(tǒng)，并在三年內(nèi)全面應(yīng)用。

NASA says the first human missions to Mars could take place by the 2030s.
美國宇航局表示，可能于本世紀(jì)30年代實(shí)現(xiàn)首次人類火星登陸任務(wù)。

英文來源：法新社
翻譯：董靜
編審：yaning