“Not every shooting star is romantic,” says Gernot Grömer. The burning material can also be a capsule full of used astronauts’ underwear or other trash from the ISS space station, which is brought down in a controlled manner.
Grömer and his team from the Austrian Space Forum (ÖWF) and the Vienna Textile Lab (VTL) are researching a solution so that underwear can be worn longer in space before it is disposed of and still remain hygienic.
The problem is urgent: stays in space and outside of space stations will probably be significantly more frequent and take longer in the future. Microbes could become the enemy of the dreams of a flight to the moon station and Mars.
“The more we are on the move in new dimensions in manned space travel, the more likely we are to have some unpleasant surprises,” says Grömer. So far, the astro-, cosmo- or taikonauts have worn their underwear for a few days, then they are disposed of.
On space trips, they first put on a diaper, then their personal underwear – but the third layer, which provides cooling, is shared by the crew members without being washed in between. “This is particularly problematic for hygiene,” says Grömer. The current material contains bacteria-fighting silver threads, but under space conditions this is not the ideal long-term solution due to possible side effects.
The European Space Agency (ESA), which awarded the project to the OeWF, wants to have a proposal in 2023. That is why the ÖWF has brought the VTL on board. The idea of the small Viennese start-up company is to fight fire with fire. That means: harmful bacteria should be kept under control with excretion products of certain other bacteria. Now it’s about finding out how the method could prove itself under the special space conditions.
“In space there is a very special microbiome, there is no balance like on earth,” says VTL boss and chemist Karin Fleck. Long-term US astronaut Scott Kelly once described the smell of the air on board the ISS as unappetizing: it smells like a mixture of disinfectant, garbage and sweat.
Astronauts are also prone to skin diseases – with lower gravity, the sweat is also distributed differently, according to Fleck. Textiles that keep bacteria in check are also necessary beyond underwear.
Basically, it’s about complete spacesuits and important parts such as gloves, says Fleck. The textiles are tested, trying not to ignore aspects such as moon dust and radiation. “In any case, we are confident that it will work,” says Fleck.
In the case of the project, the potential earthly benefits seem obvious. Talks have already taken place with manufacturers of textile fibers, who are very interested, says Grömer. Ultimately, it’s about keeping laundry fresher longer on earth. That would also help the environment, they say.
The so-called analog astronauts of the OeWF – they simulate the tasks of an astronaut team on earth in space suits – want to gain experience in October in the Negev desert in Israel. The ÖWF has already done twelve such Mars simulations. “Austria has some niche expertise in space travel,” says Grömer.
What bacteria and fungi can do with a space station became clear from the example of the Russian Mir. In the end, the long-term module was so contaminated with microbes that it could no longer be used for this reason.
“Our research doesn’t seem so glamorous, but it is important,” emphasizes Grömer. One of the next hygiene projects will then be the co-development of a washing machine suitable for maritime use. The carbon dioxide there could be liquefied and thus provide the necessary moisture, explains the expert. “That would be the high-tech solution.”