Beyond the projects to return to the Moon, or the various missions to explore other planets, NASA works hard to solve one of the most complicated tasks in space: washing clothes.
Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) exercise for two hours a day to counteract the effects of weightlessness that weaken muscles and bones. This leaves your clothes sweaty and smelly in record time, with t-shirts, shorts, and socks being thrown away in droves every week.
That's right. If you didn't know, astronauts aboard the ISS don't do laundry. The vital nature of water on space missions means that they simply discard used clothing, happy to know that it disintegrates upon re-entry into the atmosphere.
As a result, NASA sends 72 kilos of clothing per year for each crew member to the ISS. Round-trip human missions to Mars could last two to three years.
With upcoming missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA knows it needs a more sustainable long-term solution. And this will come in the form of a specially designed detergent by Procter &Gamble's (P&G) brand Tide, the US consumer goods giant said Tuesday.
NASA and P&G space detergent to begin testing next year
Key challenges for laundry in space include ingredient safety and compatibility with NASA life support systems. In turn, one must consider the limited amount of water available per wash load and the requirement that used water be purified to make it drinkable.
To combat these challenges, P&G developed a fully degradable detergent specifically designed to solve the problems of removing odors, cleaning and staining of washable items used during deep space missions. Also, according to the company, it is suitable for use in a closed-loop water system.
The first tests to assess the effects of microgravity and radiation on the new detergent will take place on a cargo flight to the ISS next year and then on the ISS itself, according to Reuters.
In addition to tests aboard the ISS, NASA and Tide researchers may study how an innovative combined washing and drying unit using this special detergent could potentially be integrated into planetary habitats that can be used for missions to the Moon and Mars in surface conditions with low gravity.
At the same time, identical experiments will be conducted on Earth, using the same materials, to study the differences, P&G said.
With information from Reuters
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