FYI: How Often Do Astronauts Do Laundry?
The European Space Agency (ESA) has gotten to the bottom of the most pertinent question we hadn't been asking. Are all astronauts floating around in dirty underoos? The ESA's video team polled people in various European cities to find out what the common Earthling thinks is going on under those spacesuits. Some apparently think astronauts get paper underwear, while others think a lack of gravity means the grime just floats away in what must be a kind of Pig-Pen-esque cloud. If only! The answer is, astronauts don't do laundry at all. Though NASA commissioned a washing machine for the International Space Station in 2011, apparently, astronauts' dreams of freshly laundered linens have yet to materialize. Water is a precious commodity on the ISS, and no one wants to waste precious recycled urine on dirty socks. Fresh clothes are delivered from Earth like any other supplies. But since that doesn't happen...