During a live broadcast inside the Orion capsule, which heads towards the Moon this Friday (3), NASA showed what astronauts’ space hygiene is like.
Astronaut Victor Glover used a damp towel to clean his feet.
During the “space shower”, astronauts can also use rinse-free shampoo and waterless soap.
To brush their teeth, the crew swallows toothpaste or spits into a towel, as there is no sink with running water and drainage. Shaving in space requires the use of special blades designed to retain hair.
On Earth, gravity pulls fluids downward during the night. In space, fluids redistribute toward the head and chest while astronauts sleep, so they often wake up with congested sinuses and swollen faces.
In addition to Glover, NASA’s Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen are in the capsule.
Look here NASA’s real-time tracking.
On Thursday (2), the ship made the last major boost to the engine, which placed Orion on the correct route.
The spacecraft will now head until it reaches lunar orbit. The astronauts will not set foot on the satellite on this mission, but will bypass the far side of the satellite before returning to Earth on the 10th.
