by Bleep » Sun 11 Feb 2007, 00:23:32
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')url=http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-spacediaper9feb10,0,2527297.story?coll=la-home-headlines]NASA diapers become topic No. 1[/url]
...skip... NASA officials have been besieged with questions about their special space diapers, which are officially known as "maximum absorption garments."
Who manufactures these long-distance disposables? The answer is shrouded in mystery.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17034568/site/newsweek/]
What’s Up With the Diaper?[/url] ...skip...
So how do they work? “The diapers they use today are a modified adult diaper, except you just pull it up like a pair of shorts,” Sindelar said. "Inside there is a chemical [sodium polyacrylate] that can absorb about 1,000 times its weight in water. The powdery material is woven into the fabrics of the diaper itself so when the astronaut uses the restroom, the liquid is absorbed into the fabric and the diaper pulls it away from the skin.” (“The astronauts are usually going to go No. 1 in the diaper and save the other stuff for when they are on board," she added.)