The only toilet aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has broken, leaving the crew with nowhere to go, according to NASA.
While one of the crew was using the Russian-made toilet last week, its motor fan stopped working. Since then, the liquid waste gathering part of the toilet has been working intermittently.
The solid waste collecting part is functioning normally, but Russian officials don't know the cause of the problem and the crew has been unable to fix it.
Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to visit the ISS after its launch on 31 May and the crew plan to pack some spanners and plumbing gear to fix the loo.
Until then, the three-man crew will have to make do with a temporary system when they need to go.
The crew has used the toilet on the Soyuz return capsule, but it is filling up fast. They are now are using a back-up bag collection system that can be connected to the broken toilet, according to NASA.
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Source: Flight Daily News
