In the unique environment of space, everyday activities we take for granted on Earth, like doing laundry, are rethought due to different logistical and environmental challenges. Among these challenges is the management of clothing by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Interestingly, astronauts do not wash their clothes but instead discard them after use. This may seem wasteful at first, but practical reasons underpin this practice.
Water is an extremely valuable resource in space. The cost of sending just one pound of cargo, which includes essentials like food, water, and scientific equipment, to the ISS is approximately $10,000. This makes the delivery of water and other supplies very expensive. Given these constraints, the use of water for laundry becomes economically unfeasible. Washing clothes would not only require a significant amount of water but also a method for effectively drying them in a microgravity environment, which could lead to further complications such as moisture recovery and air filtration.
Moreover, the ISS is equipped with a limited volume of living space, and installing a washing machine and dryer would take up precious space that could be used for other critical functions like research facilities or life support systems. Instead, astronauts are provided with enough clothing items to last throughout their mission duration. These clothes are usually made of materials suited for multiple wears but are eventually discarded after they reach their usage limit.
Discarded clothing aboard the ISS typically gets packed into an unmanned supply spacecraft that is scheduled to return to Earth. Instead of soft-landing, these spacecrafts are designed to burn up upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere, incinerating the waste along with the spacecraft.
This approach of managing clothing waste highlights the broader sustainability challenges faced in space missions, wherein every decision must carefully balance cost, safety, functionality, and resources. As space agencies look forward to longer missions, perhaps to Mars or beyond, innovative solutions for clothing and other resource-intensive activities will be key. Research into self-cleaning fabrics, advanced materials recycling, or zero-waste garment use in space might eventually change the way astronauts manage their attire off Earth. Until then, discarding clothes remains the most practical solution available given the current technology and cost constraints.
