European Space Agency (ESA) is looking at ways to keep the LCVG cleaner and more hygienic. Since a fresh-out-of-the-laundry LCVG cannot be provided each time to astronauts on the ISS, the ESA plans to improve the antimicrobial properties in the garments. This will help keep them clean and fresh for longer.
How to keep spacesuit ‘underwear’ clean?
Spacewalking is a major highlight of any astronaut’s career. But there is a downside: putting on your spacesuit means sharing some previously-worn underlayers. A new ESA study is looking into how best to keep these items clean and hygienic as humans venture on to the Moon and beyond.
During the Space Shuttle era, each astronaut was issued with their own ‘External Mobility Unit’, the official term for a spacesuit. But crews aboard the International Space Station have shifted to sharing suits, with differently sized segments put together to fit a given spacewalker.
The first item spacewalkers put on is a (disposable) ‘Maximum Absorbency Garment’ diaper, then their own ‘Thermal Comfort Undergarment’, followed by the long-underwear-like Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG). Worn next to the skin, the LCVG incorporates liquid cooling tubes and gas ventilation to keep its wearer cool and comfortable during the sustained