As a former astronaut with three space missions under his belt, Chris Hadfield is an object of both fascination and curiosity. Spacemen and women do all manner of incredible work up there, but Hadfield gets asked one question more than almost any other: how do they go to the loo in zero gravity?
“People are curious about human bodily functions, because it’s common to us all,” he says, smiling. “But actually, it’s a terrific teaching opportunity.”
Hadfield has fielded such opportunities in talks all over the world since retiring in 2013. Next year, the astronaut, who became globally famous after performing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” during his 2013 space trip (it has 22 million views on YouTube), will tour the UK with his new show, Exploring The New Space Age, which, he says, will look at the “rapidly changing world of space innovation” within the context of a “constantly evolving $2trn space economy”.
Also: toilet habits. When such questions arise – and inevitably they do – then “I will bring that person up on stage with me, we will get a chair, and we’ll do the mime version of going to the bathroom in space.”
This serves two functions: firstly, to entertain, but also to usher forth broader subjects of human physiology, and physics in general.
