Talk of the Town: Showering in space—and other daily dilemmas

When I was younger, I had a dream of becoming the first woman in space.

Big news! It didn’t happen. In fact, Soviet cosmonaut Col. Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova beat me to it when she was shot into space in 1963. (I was in the third grade anyway.)

Now that I think about, I’m not sure space travel would be that much fun, especially if you can’t shower.

There are loads of things we earthlings take for granted that become whole new challenges when you’re orbiting the Earth in microgravity in the space shuttle or International Space Station.

One of the most asked questions that NASA receives involves bathroom rituals.

I won’t get too graphic with all the details, but I’ll deal with the subject of showering—something that would be a little tricky when weightlessness is a factor. Astronauts can take showers in space, but many of them don’t. The reason is very simple: showers don’t work well in space.

According to the scientists at the European Space Agency, like anything else in orbit, water flowing from the shower head is weightless and floats around freely instead of pouring down on the astronaut’s body.

The mist of droplets floating around does not naturally cling to the body. The microgravity and surface tension make it necessary to smear the water over the body. As soon as the droplets make contact with the skin, they form a film that tends to cling rather tenaciously and which has to be wiped or even scraped off like suntan lotion.

Sponge baths are the answer to space cleanliness. Astronauts and cosmonauts wash with wet towels and sponges. Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who, during a 437-day stay in space, used wet towels for personal hygiene, reported that his skin was even better after the flight than before.

Thanks to Gina Sunseri of ABC News, here are a few other things to contemplate if you want to travel in space:

Clean laundry: If you are a clothes freak and enjoy the trendy style changes, space travel is not for you.

As Sunseri learned, there is simply no way to wash clothes in space. Water and resources are too scarce. On extended mission runs, astronauts wear the same clothes again and again. Their T-shirts, socks and underwear have a special silver thread lining that absorbs odor and keeps items wearable longer. NASA recycles the astronauts’ clothes for other missions, including the underwear. Scary!

Greenbacks: Money is of no value in space. There’s nothing to buy and nowhere to shop. Whoever has hoarded away the most M&Ms, potato chips or coffee is the richest with the most bargaining power. Those are items that are most prized at the end of a mission if someone runs short in their own stash.

Astronauts’ meals are color coded on shuttle missions— and reliable sources told ABC News “some astronauts aren’t above switching the colored dots on their dehydrated meals if they have run out of say, lasagna, on day six and have way too much creamed spinach left.”

Eating in space: According to our friends at NASA, in the early days of space travel, when it came to eating a meal, astronauts had to rough it. Food came in dried cubes or was served in metal containers much like toothpaste tubes. Yuk! Its appearance and flavor was frightening. Space food today is much more appealing. Astronauts can enjoy many of the same foods they’d eat at home.

There is an approved list of food choices ranging from spaghetti and meat sauce to fruit salad.

Using that as a guide, each crew member creates a personalized menu and those foods are loaded and stored on board. Since each item is individually packaged, it’s merely a matter of picking and choosing which container to put in the galley storage area.

“On the Space Shuttle, we have a re hydration station where water is added to any dried products,” says Vickie Kloeris, sub-system manager for Shuttle and International Space Station food.

There are very few items that just don’t work up in space, Kloeris adds.

“Carbonated drinks currently don’t make the trip because the carbonation and the soda will separate in microgravity. Ice cream or anything else frozen can’t go up, because we don’t have freezers, and try as we might, we just have not been able to come up with a good shelf-stable pizza. Beyond that, though, astronauts can find just about anything you’d order on a typical menu. The presentation might be different-the chicken a la king might be dehydrated-but the names are all the same.”

The Green Valley Camera Club hosted an open house reception last Saturday in its new Santa Rita Springs Recreation Center location at 921 W. Via Rio Fuerte. More than 400 area residents attended the open house.

“We are delighted that so many people are interested in using their digital cameras,” says Don White, club president. “With these new expanded facilities we are in a better position to help anyone who would like to know more about digital imaging.”

The Green Valley Recreation hobby club recently moved from the East Center, where it had operated for more than 30 years. Members said the new facility is three times larger and will better accommodate the club’s more than 800 GVR members. The advent of the club’s expanded educational program, centered around the rapid growth of digital photography and videos, required a larger space.

All GVR members who may have an interest in digital photography or videos are urged to visit the club weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon.

Camera Club monitors are always on hand to show visitors the club’s extensive new equipment, including a “digital” darkroom, a hands-on computer teaching room, a mat cutting and framing station, and a photo studio.

The club hosts a wide variety of photographic programs throughout the year, including several print exhibits at GVR’s neighboring recreation centers.

In recent years, more than 1,500 GVR members have attended the club’s 12-week photo course which is conducted every January, February, and March.

“If you want to learn about the new, ever expanding world of digital image making, come to the new club rooms and see what we have to offer,” adds Don Spear, past president.

rford@gvnews.com 547-9740