NASA prepares to develop detergent in ISS for laundering clothes in off-planet missions

Since human presence in space has become more frequent than ever and space agencies are working towards making humans multi-planetary, NASA has widened its perspective about things that need to be developed for human survival. But what’s interesting, is the agency’s investment in factors other than growing crops and human tissues in space. And this list includes the development of a detergent for laundering clothes in the NASA Artemis, Mars, and other future off-planet missions.

This experiment is part of the payload that will be carried by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft aboard the Falcon 9 rocket in late December. The rocket will lift off from the Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in what will be SpaceX’s 24th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). 

Making detergent 'Tide' in space?

According to NASA, the experiment to develop detergent in space will be conducted in collaboration with the P&G Telescience Investigation of Detergent Experiments (PGTIDE), the makers of ‘Tide’. This branch of the company investigates active ingredients, formulation stability, and performance of stain removal solutions in a microgravity environment. 

As per the mission profile shared by the agency, the first objective of the experiment is to test Tide To Go Pens and Tide To Go wipes to better understand the performance of stain removal ingredients in microgravity. Scientists in their second objective will also examine any changes caused in the physical appearance of detergent and in the stability and performance of enzymes in detergent formulations caused by exposure to microgravity. "Results could help support development of detergent for use in future space missions where crews need to launder clothing and other items for long-term use," the agency said. The Dragon spacecraft will also carry several other interesting and futuristic experiments which would make survival in space a little less uncomfortable. 

Among these experiments include a protein crystal growth study that could improve the delivery of cancer treatment drugs along with a 3D human tissue bioprinter that will test technology that could one day be used to print tissue directly on wounds to accelerate healing. If developed successfully, this technology will prove to be a gamechanger for people on both Earth, in space and even on other planets.

(Image: Twitter/@Roscosmos)