Al-Masri Light / How do astronauts bathe during their missions ?: A tough challenge

Golud Omar: Presented by

There are many challenges associated with living on the International Space Station, especially taking care of basic needs such as food, clothing and even personal hygiene, as NASA astronaut Karen Nieberk pointed out, bathing is one of these challenges. .

Astronauts have difficulty in showering because the lack of gravity pulls water from the base of the head, and the lack of gravity causes water and foam to spread everywhere, and the astronauts face a shortage of hot water, so the engineers were able to keep the astronauts clean according to the “How the Material Works” website post Be smart.

In NASA’s early days in space, astronauts on Gemini and Apollo missions had specific options for bathing, including a towel, sponge bath with soap and water, but the water in those small capsules was very limited.

While the Skylape space station was in orbit, the bath was a two-hour hard work, using custom showers, where the astronauts climbed into a tube, attached their feet down, and then pulled the tube around their body, then applied soap. Before washing it using 12 cups (2.8 liters) of compressed water running through the tube, fluid all over their body.

The forerunners were then forced to dry their body with a towel, and absorb every drop of water before spreading in the vehicle and cause damage somewhere, and because of the difficulty in this matter, they only changed clothes without showering, so they had more clothes to change.

During the space age, astronauts used a sponge bath, as did the crew of Gemini and Apollo, but today the International Space Station orbits the Earth, improving the level of rain and providing water in small pockets, thus creating more water that interacts with the astronauts’ skin at cleaning points. Soldiers also use soap that does not need to be rinsed, and this does not prevent the astronauts from picking up the water they use with a towel.

Any remaining moisture is captured by the environmental control system, life support and recycling because the International Space Station system must clean and reuse every drop of water, from shower to urination.