Buy the Underwear Apollo-Era Astronauts Peed In for $300

Space is awesome, but it’s also dangerous and inhospitable. The cold vacuum of the cosmos requires dedication, strength, and patience to explore. You also need a great catheter. Apollo-era astronauts used a bright yellow “Urine Collection Transfer Assembly” and “Waste Fluid Collector Assembly” to do their business in space. The classy underwear fit over a full body liquid cooling garment and redirected the flow of waste in the event an astronaut had to go while floating through the dark.

This lovely set up is for sale as part of a large auction of Apollo-era memorabilia. It can be yours for around $300.

According to NASA, the underwear is the most sophisticated diaper in the world. “In the absence of a system providing positive means for the removal of feces from the body, an extremely basic system had to be relied upon for inflight fecal collection,” NASA’s history website explained. “The device used was a plastic bag which was taped to the buttocks to capture feces. After defecation, the crewmember was required to seal the bag and knead it in order to mix a liquid bactericide with the contents to provide the desired degree of feces stabilization. Because this task was distasteful and required an inordinate amount of time, low residue foods and laxatives were generally used prior to launch. During flight, in addition to low residue foods, some use was also made of drugs to reduce intestinal motility.”

Many of us dreamed of being astronauts, but never considered the finer details of how to live and work in space. Thanks to the Space and Aviation Auction from RR Auction, fans of space can own a little bit of the Apollo project without the indignity of ever having to use it.

The auction is a treasure trove of memorabilia from the Apollo era, including maps and documents signed by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong as well as documents from the archives of rocket scientist Wernher Von Braun. As of this writing, the current bid on the space pants is just under $300.

A small price to pay for a taste of space without the hassle of actually going there.