(ConservativeInsider.org) – At first glance, being an astronaut may seem glamorous and idyllic as they get to watch the Earth rotate endlessly on its axis from outer space. But, what most people don’t think much about is the fact there’s currently no way for astronauts to do their laundry in space, leaving them either with stiff, stinky clothes, or loads of textile garbage. Thankfully, Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) hopes to change that.
On Tuesday, June 22, P&G announced it’s sending a Tide detergent to the International Space Station in December as well as stain removal experiments next May. The goal is for P&G to create products that both work and last in the zero-gravity environment.
In addition, teams at the company are designing washing and drying machines that can work in space using as little water as possible. The truly difficult part of this, however, is figuring out how to recycle the water for reuse after the load of washing is done.
The Smithsonian Magazine shared the news on Twitter:
NASA is teaming up with the company that makes Tide laundry detergent to tackle a mundane problem in an extraordinary place: dirty clothes in space. https://t.co/a3S5IhYigm
— Smithsonian Magazine (@SmithsonianMag) June 26, 2021
Right now, astronauts have to work out at least two hours a day to keep their bone and muscle density up while in a weightless environment. Their dirty gym clothes turn disgusting in days, forcing the astronauts to deal with loads of space trash. If NASA is going to continue exploring the final frontier, it’s essential that the simple things, like laundry, are able to be done in space.
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