ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday that the Dragon spacecraft "definitely" needed upgraded toilets after the Inspiration4 civilian crew faced challenges while in space.
The all-civilian crew returned back to Earth on Saturday evening after spending almost 48 hours in space, parachuting down into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
Musk didn't go into detail about what the problems specifically were, but still, as of now, it's not clear how the toilet facilities work on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship.
According to Insider, the toilet is on the ceiling, with the surrounding area featuring a glass dome that SpaceX installed at the nose of the capsule.
This allowed the passengers to take in the views outside of the windows while taking care of their business.
European astronaut Thomas Pesquet shared on Twitter a picture of a toilet from a spacecraft designed by SpaceX. He said there was a curtain for privacy and "the only advantage is the view."
Just last year, the International Space Station (ISS) received a new upgraded toilet called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), NASA said on their website.
This new toilet is 65 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the previous space station toilet, NASA explained.
So how does a space toilet work?
According to NASA, space waste bowls use airflow to pull the waste away from the body and into the proper receptacles. A new feature added to the UWMS was the airflow starting automatically when the toilet lid was lifted, helping with odor control.
There are foot restraints and handholds to help the astronauts from not floating away at the wrong times. NASA says all toilet paper, wipes and gloves are disposed of in water-tight bags.
Speaking of upgrades, Musk tweeted his thoughts of adding "a little oven for heating food and Starlink wifi" for the future of the Dragon spacecraft.
This will help the crew be able to heat up food, instead of munching on cold pizza during their trip, the New York Post said.
