How do astronauts do the laundry in space ? They don’t. They wear their underwear, gym clothes and everything else until they can’t take the smell anymore, then junk them.
NASA wants to change that — if not at the International Space Station (ISS), and then the moon and Mars- and stop throwing away tons of dirty clothes every year, putting them in the waste to burn up in the atmosphere aboard abandoned cargo ships. So it’s teamed up with Procter＆Gamble Co. (P＆C) to figure out how best to clean astronauts’ clothes in space so they can be reused for months or even years, just like on Earth.
Rocket cargo space is tight and expensive, according to NASA, so why waste it on new clothes if their clothes could be kept looking and smelling fresh? There’re also the health factors. Space station astronauts exercise two hours every day to deal with the muscle-and bone-withering effects of weightlessness, quickly leaving their workout clothes sweaty, smelly and stiff. Their T-shirts, shorts and socks end up so terrible that they run through a pair every week, according to Leland Melvin, a former NASA astronaut. “After that, they’re considered poisonous,” said Melvin, who’s serving as a spokesman for the project.
While NASA and the other space station partners have looked into special clothes to extend wear, it’s not a long-term solution. In its initial experiment, P＆G will send up detergent specially made for space in December, so scientists can see how the detergent react to six months of weightlessness.
P&G is developing a washer-dryer combination that could operate on the moon or even Mars, using a little water and detergent. Then next May, stain-removal pens and wipes will be delivered for testing by astronauts. “The best solutions come from the most diverse teams,” Melvin said, “and how more diverse can you be than Tideand NASA?”
【小题1】How do astronauts deal with the clothes after wearing them?| A．By throwing them directly into space. | B．By burning them up in a spaceship. |
| C．By reusing them in cargo ships. | D．By cleaning them up by hand. |
| A．The limitations of rocket cargo space. | B．The reasons for cleaning dirty clothes in space. |
| C．The suitable exercising ways of astronauts. | D．The role Melvin plays in designing the project. |
| A．It’s time-consuming to make them. | B．They are easy to wash. |
| C．They are not very satisfactory. | D．They won’t become smelly. |
| A．Send them some daily cleaning supplies. |
| B．Reduce the effect of weightlessness on them. |
| C．Design a machine for drying clothes in space. |
| D．Deliver pens for them to improve their handwriting. |
