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众所周知，由于地心引力的作用，在地球上人们能轻松地将体内的废物排出体外。
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Going to the toilet is easy down here on Earth, because gravity pulls your solid and liquid wastes down, away from you.
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然而，在宇宙这个无重力环境下，这些排泄物会到处乱飞，整个就像“天女散花”。
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But in the gravity-free environment of space, waste tends to just float around.
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自人类开始宇宙飞行至今，关于宇航员在外太空如何处理人体排泄物的问题，美国宇航局已经学到了不少知识。
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Since the early days of the spaceflight, NASA has learned a lot about what to do with human waste while their astronauts are away from Mother Earth.
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回首过去，据说首个“太空厕所”并不怎么舒服。
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The very first "space toilet" was not that comfortable.
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1961年5月5日，首位登上太空的美国宇航员艾伦-谢帕德在发射前不得以只能在宇航服内小便。
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Alan Shepard, the first American to be put into space, had to pee inside his spacesuit just before the flight on May 5, 1961.
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而如今，太空厕所看起来就和地球上的西式厕所没什么两样。
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Now, space toilets look similar to the Western style toilets that people use on Earth.
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但是，这种太空厕所并不冲水，而是像真空吸尘器一样将宇航员的排泄物吸走。
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However, instead of flushing, they work like a vacuum cleaner sucking away the astronaut`s waste.
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宇航员如果想要方便，首先要用固定带系在大腿上，把自己固定在马桶上，这样他们才不会飘走。
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When nature calls, astronauts fasten their bodies to the toilet so that they won`t float away. They are held on by a bar across their thighs.
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使用马桶的过程中，会有气流自座椅下的小孔不断吹入。这样一来，排泄物会被气流抽到马桶底部的一个袋中，固体部分被收集起来，空气则被过滤掉。
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While the toilet is in use, it has a continuous flow of air blowing in through holes under the seat. This airflow pushes waste toward the bottom of the toilet, drawing it into a bag, holding solid waste, but letting the air through.
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太空厕所中的小便池是男女通用的。
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The urinal works for both men and women.
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它实际上是个装有漏斗的软管，一端连到废水槽。宇航员无论站立还是坐着都可使用。
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It`s a flexible hose with a funnel. It can be used whether you are sitting on the toilet or standing. The hose then travels to the waste water tank.
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此外，尿液和大便的处理方式大不相同。
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There are different ways of treating solid and liquid waste.
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所有大便都将带回地球处理，而尿液则通常被抛到宇宙中。
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All solid waste is brought back to Earth for treatment, while liquid waste is thrown out into space from time to time.
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一位宇航员曾如此评价："没有什么比在夕阳下倾倒尿液更美的了。
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" One astronaut had commented: "There is nothing as beautiful as a urine dump at sunset."
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