NASA taps P&G to find solution on space laundry
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has tapped Procter & Gamble for a project that takes the consumer goods company back to its roots, albeit in a space-age way.
NASA has signed a contract with P&G to develop the first detergent for washing clothes in space. Currently, astronauts’ dirty laundry is packaged up and ejected alongside other waste in a capsule to burn in the atmosphere, or returned to Earth as garbage.
It’s not just laundry though. According to the contract between NASA and P&G, the space agency wants Procter & Gamble to create and improve the best methods for cleaning clothing and crew quarters for space exploration missions.
The objectives of both parties, as laid out in the contract are two-fold:
- NASA hopes to find the best ways to clean in space for potential long-term missions using a closed life support system.
- P&G seeks to utilize those discoveries for applications on earth in places where water is scare and cleaning solutions need to respect the environment.
According to the contract, the collaboration will contribute to NASA’s goal of extending human presence deeper into space and to the moon for sustainable long-term exploration.
The collaboration also contributes to P&G’s goal of promoting water savings and sustainability among its 5 billion customers.
P&G employs about 1,250 at its Brown Summit facility, where it produces Crest, Secret and Old Spice deodorants, and Olay skin products. Procter & Gamble is also the creator and manufacturer of other consumer brands such as Ariel, Bounty, Charmin, Dawn, Downy, Febreze, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Pampers and Tide.
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