Of NASA, astronauts and diapers.

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“The diapers they use today are a modified adult diaper, except you just pull it up like a pair of shorts,” Teresa Sindelar (a camp programs manager in the education department at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center), said. "Inside there is a chemical [sodium polyacrylate] that can absorb about 1,000 times its weight in water. The powdery material is woven into the fabrics of the diaper itself so when the astronaut uses the restroom, the liquid is absorbed into the fabric and the diaper pulls it away from the skin.
The NASA diapers helped to influence the consumer diaper market, as well as feminine hygiene products. “It's what we call a spinoff, which is anything that is developed for the space program and then is passed down for commercial use,” Sindelar says. “Since NASA is a governmental institution they can't patent anything. The basic design and chemicals in the consumer products are the same as the NASA products, so if you were to pull apart a baby diaper, you would see the powder.”

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[NASA] [astronauts] [diapers] [Lisa Nowak]