Curious logo

Dear Curious Readers, No new content will be published for the next few months due to website changes.

 
Image depicting stowage and space problem

Stowage and trash problem experienced by NASA

 

Recommended for Preparatory Grades

 

NASA experiences stowage and trash problem.

Since NASA started sending humans to space, there has been a problem of stowage and trash.

What is stowage?

Stowage is the amount of room or space available to store materials in an airplane, ship or tank.

NASA is trying to figure out ways to store things in space and get rid of the trash. The simplest things on Earth are most challenging in space. In space, it is difficult to dispose of waste materials.  These problems will increase during the missions of Mars.

Stowage Problems

Astronauts waste more than 25% of their time looking for things and storing them. Inside the International Space Station, every empty space is a stowage area. The empty spaces could be walls, floors and even ceilings.

Inside the space station, food, astronauts suits, tools, experiments are squeezed into tight modules. Even the waste is stored. The astronauts need to find the space to live and work in the same module.

Trash disposal

Trash is another problem in space. Currently, ISS astronauts pack returning capsules with trash they store. Another problem is that sometimes, the crafts fly in and out with a weekly gap. In the meanwhile, the waste accumulates in the ISS itself.

Steps taken by NASA

NASA knows that they need to solve the stowage and trash problem. HeroX and NASA have launched a competition in which people have to design a solution for waste. They have announced a prize of $24,000 to the person or team who comes up with a better solution.

Until new solutions are found, the astronauts need to store everything including trash in their living spaces.

Image depicting Curious Times Logo

At Curious Times, we absolutely love what we do. We strive each day to provide our little readers with the best experience and news. Curious Times WeeklyThe Curious Magazine, and My Expressions are just a few ways for us to reach out to our readers. We present our readers with exciting and interesting content. 

All over the world, school children find value and love our content! We want to be better each day, thus continue to seek your valuable feedback. What kind of news topics interest you? Write to us in the comments section below. We love to hear from our little readers. You could also connect with us via WhatsAppInstagram, Facebook, YoutubeTwitterLinkedIn.

  (Please login to give a Curious Clap to your friend.)

Share your comment!

To post your comment Login/Signup