Collapsible Contingency Urinal (CCU)

A passive, reusable microgravity urine collection device for human spaceflight. No power, no fans, no moving parts — just capillary physics.

IRPI’s Collapsible Contingency Urinal (CCU) is flying as the backup urine collection system aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft on the Artemis II mission — the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit in over 50 years. When the primary waste management system experienced a fan malfunction shortly after launch in April 2026, the crew relied on the CCU while astronauts and the ground crew worked to restore the toilet to full operation.

The CCU was developed under a NASA SBIR Phase II contract for the Orion spacecraft as a contingency device in the event of a failure of the primary toilet Universal Waste Management System (UWMS). It achieved TRL 8 through several ISS flight tests and crew use evaluations, and flight-certified units are now in production for use aboard both Orion, Human Landing System, and other spacecraft.

The CCU is a passive, handheld device that uses capillary fluidics to manage urine collection in microgravity — no pumps, fans, or electrical power required. The device combines robust superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic substrates to mimic gravity, where, in effect, droplets “fall” and bubbles “rise.”

For the female configuration, a superhydrophobic expansion at the inlet passively ejects urine away from the body. The liquid is then captured and wicked toward the drain port by a tapering superhydrophilic bag liner and internal vane structure. A superhydrophobic screen at the top of the bag allows displaced air to escape while reflecting spurious droplets, jets, and rivulets back into the bag — preventing pressure buildup that would hamper complete voids or cause backpressure and undesirable backflow.

The result is perhaps the first acceptable, reusable, passive urine collection device for both women and men aboard spacecraft.

The CCU originated from NASA SBIR-funded research. In 2019, the Orion Program selected it over both the legacy single-use Urine Collection Device (UCD) and Maximum Absorbency Garments (MAGs) after both alternatives exceeded the mass and volume budget.

Three rounds of ISS flight demonstrations (2021–2022) refined the design through simulated and actual crew use testing, culminating in crew office approval in May 2022. The underlying capillary fluidics platform draws on IRPI’s broader ISS research portfolio, including the Capillary Flow Experiments (CFE/CFE-2), Capillary Channel Flow (CCF), and the Space Cup (Capillary Beverage).