One of the little discussed problems of long term space travel, the importance of which is as great in its own way as waste disposal and personal hygiene, is dealing with astronaut's dirty clothes.
According to the Daily Mail, NASA has finally gotten around to the problem of clothes washing and drying in micro gravity. It has commissioned a company called UMPQUA to create a washer/dryer system that is stingy on both energy and water.
How did astronauts deal with dirty clothes previously?
On short duration trips, up to and including the Apollo missions to the moon, the astronauts simply wore the same clothing. The Apollo astronauts wore light weight coveralls over something called the constant wear under garment, as as shown in this Smithsonian exhibit, whose name is self explanatory. The lack of changes of clothing made space exploration in those days a personal challenge.
As astronauts spent longer times in space, starting with the Skylab missions and continuing into the shuttle and space station eras, each person traveling in space were issued a number of under garments and outerwear. Underwear would be worn several days at a time before being discarded and destroyed with the rest of the waste. Outerwear such as coveralls could be often worn for months at a time for long duration International Space Station tours.
How will the space washer/dryer work?
The device, which has a typical NASA name of the Advanced Microgravity Compatible Integrated Laundry (AMCIL) , will use jets of water vapor, air, and microwaves to clean astronauts clothing. Three air jets would be used to achieve a tumbling effect. Jets of air and vacuum would be used to dry the clothes.
What are the advantages of a washer/dryer vs. disposable clothing?
Besides providing for astronaut comfort, the AMCIL will be a net money saver. Changes of clothing are expensive to take from the Earth's surface to the ISS. A space washer/dryer will allow the astronauts to reuse clothing, thus permitting them to take only a few changes for a three or six months stay on the space station. Naturally this becomes an even greater consideration for voyages to the moon or points beyond.
Are looking at another NASA spinoff happening by and by?
Any appliance that uses less energy and less water would certainly have Earth bound applications. As with anything, the ability to produce such models using AMCIL technology cheap enough to compete with standard washers and dryers would be of vast importance to make them competitive on the consumer products market. Such a unit could be used at remote locations, such as military bases, with limited access.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times and The Weekly Standard.
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