Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who visited the International Space Station (ISS) in June last year as part of the Axiom Mission 4, has shared a fun and eye-opening video about how astronauts keep clean in space.
The second Indian to visit the ISS, after Rakesh Sharma, Shukla has prompted viewers to wonder how people floating in space brush their teeth or take a shower.
HOW DO ASTRONAUTS HAVE A BATH?
There are no regular showers on the ISS.
Water drops would drift and cause problems in zero gravity. Instead, astronauts use a simple but smart method.
Shukla showed a small sealed bag with a special wash cloth already mixed with cleaning shampoo. He added a little water to soak the cloth fully. Then he used it like a sponge bath to wipe himself clean.
It is quick, uses very little water, and keeps everything neat.
But afterwards, what happens to the used water and towel?
Let us just say, nothing is wasted in space.
After use, the wet towel goes into a special system on the station. This clever setup pulls out the moisture and recycles it so more than 90 percent of the water can be used again for drinking and other needs.
Shukla called it the “world’s most expensive sponge bath” because of how carefully resources are managed 400 kilometres above Earth.
That was not all Shukla put on display.
He also left his phone floating freely in the air to highlight how things do not fall in microgravity, meaning a phone holder is a waste in space.
He followed Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) for daily routines, even though the station orbits Earth many times a day.
For brushing teeth, it is almost the same as on Earth, but astronauts swallow the special Nasa-approved toothpaste instead of spitting.
Shukla’s light-hearted post on social media has excited many people and also answers common questions about daily life in space.
His mission highlights India’s growing role in global space exploration.
