This spaceman is reaching for the stars but landing in the toilet.
British astronaut Tim Peake told London schoolchildren recently that his upcoming stint aboard the International Space Station will include critical latrine duty.
“So it might not seem like a very glamorous task for an astronaut but we do spend an awful lot of time fixing the loo," he said in the interview from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, per the Irish Examiner.
Peake won't be performing just any plumbing job. An ISS toilet costs $19 million, according to the Associated Press.
So what about using the lavatory (tour below)?
"It’s really very straightforward," Peake told the students, according to The Daily Mail. "It just uses air suction and a big fan to keep everything going in the right direction.” (Story continues below video.)
Media outlets noted that Peake, who begins his mission in December, also anticipates a bit of discomfort upon arrival at the ISS.
He added: “I’m sure there’s going to be a bit of a rush to the loo after six hours in the Soyuz spacecraft when we dock and get on board the space station.”
Here's a previous student interview with Peake:
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