Five German Students are Inventing a Shower for Space. Humanity has conquered space since Gagarin’s flight, yet bathing there remains a challenge.
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In the early 1970s, Russian engineers developed a type of bag for use aboard the Mir space station and also on the American Skylab. When showering, astronauts would enter the bag, tighten a cord to prevent water from escaping, and then release water to splash around inside the bag.
During this process, their heads remained outside the bag. To wash their hair, astronauts had to use a type of “dry” shampoo. After showering, they could not dry off with a towel but instead had to use a vacuum device to dry off, waiting until their skin was completely dry before exiting the bag. Additionally, the water used had to be recycled, as fresh water aboard the spacecraft was limited.
Five students from Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany, aged between 22 and 24, have applied the principles of electromagnetic fields to design a “special shower” for astronauts.
The shower will contain a metal tube with a diameter of 30 cm, housing an electrode connected to a generator, ready to produce a voltage of 25 kilovolts.
An electric field is generated, directing water jets towards the bather. All of this is contained within a 1.3-meter long foam-covered box to prevent the risk of injury in the confined conditions of a spacecraft.
All five students were invited to the astronaut selection center of the European Space Agency (ESA) in France to test their invention. On a French Airbus aircraft, at a certain altitude, the pilot turns off the engines for a free fall, during which weightlessness occurs for about 30 seconds.
During this brief window, the students must test the machine and derive rules regarding water jet speed and electric field intensity.
The initial testing costs are covered by Darmstadt University, but by March next year, they will need to find another sponsor.
ESA is paying close attention to their invention, but the pioneers themselves are concerned that the “shower“—which stands nearly 2 meters tall—will require a stronger electric field than the current model to direct the water jet downwards. If successful, the “space shower“—their invention—will be officially announced, but it may interfere with other technologies or pose safety risks to the users.
For months in weightless conditions, astronauts often experience muscle atrophy and osteoporosis, making the need for showering critical. This invention is indeed rare and highly practical!
