Supply Run to Space Station Will Have 2 Unusual Items

A $23M toilet and a skincare formula for a product shoot in space
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 28, 2020 1:21 PM CDT
Supply Run to Space Station Will Have 2 Unusual Items
The International Space Station is getting an expensive new toilet system.   (Getty/3DSculptor)

A Northrop Grumman rocket is scheduled to blast off Tuesday from Virginia to deliver all kinds of new supplies and equipment to the International Space Station, and two items in particular were drawing some attention:

  • Skin care: Estee Lauder is paying $128,000 to send up its latest skin care formula, reports Bloomberg. But this isn't just a freebie for astronauts. They'll have to take photos of "Advanced Night Repair" from the control tower, presumably with gorgeous views of the cosmos in the background. The company, already boasting that it's "the first beauty brand to go into space," will then use the images in an ad campaign back here on Earth.
  • Fancy toilet: The rocket also will deliver a $23 million toilet, reports Space.com. That's how much it cost to develop the Universal Waste Management System, which is smaller and lighter than current space toilets and better suited for female astronauts. "NASA spent a lot of time working with crewmembers … to improve the use of the commode," says NASA's Melissa McKinley. If all goes well, the futuristic toilet may be used for missions to the moon and to Mars.
(More NASA stories.)

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