In space, a loo costs a lot.

在太空，抽水馬桶價值不菲。

NASA has agreed to pay $19 million for a Russian-built toilet system for the international space station. The figure may sound astronomical for a toilet in space, but NASA officials said it was cheaper than building their own.

美國太空總署已經同意付1,900萬美元買俄羅斯製抽水馬桶，安裝在國際太空站。對太空廁所，這看來有如天文數字，但太空總署官員說，這比他們自己打造要便宜。

Astronauts are familiar with how it works since it's similar to one already in use at the space station. The new system will be able to transfer urine to a device that can produce drinking water.

太空人也很熟悉如何操作，因為它和目前已經在太空站所使用的馬桶類似。新馬桶可以把尿液轉送到一個裝置再製成飲用水。

The new system is scheduled to be delivered to the U.S. side of the space station in 2008. It will offer more privacy than the old toilet system, which will definitely be needed: The space station crew is expected to grow from three to six people by 2009.

這套新抽水馬桶預定將在2008年交給美方的太空站。它比老廁所可以提供更多隱私，這絕對有需要，因為到2009年，太空站上的人員預料將從3人增為6人。

The space station toilet physically resembles those used on Earth, except it has leg restraints and thigh bars to keep astronauts and cosmonauts in place. Fans suck waste into the commode. Crew members also have individual urine funnels which are attached to hoses, and the urine is deposited into a wastewater tank.

太空站上的馬桶外形和地球上的很像，除了有小腿束帶和大腿護欄以固定美俄太空人之外。風扇會把排泄物吸入便器內。太空組員有個別的小便漏斗接到水管上，尿會存放在廢水桶中。

Crew members using the current toilet system on the Russian side must transfer tanks of their urine to a cargo ship, which burns up in Earth's atmosphere once undocked from the station.

大空人目前所使用的俄方的廁所，必需把尿桶送到貨艙，當太空梭離開太空站重返大氣層時銷毀。

《詞解》
loo 抽水馬桶
astronomical 天文數字
leg restraints 小腿束帶
thigh bars 大腿護欄
cosmonauts 俄羅斯太空人
commode 便器
urine funnels 小便漏斗