<p>Ever wondered how astronauts aboard the International Space Station do their laundry?</p>.<p>Well, they don't, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working hard to solve what is one of the most thorny tasks in space - washing clothes.</p>.<p>The space agency is planning to conduct a series of experiments using specially designed detergents from Procter and Gamble to find a long-term solution to the problem, the US consumer goods giant said on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The vital nature of water on space missions has meant that astronauts have simply jettisoned used clothes, happy in the knowledge they will disintegrate as they re-enter the atmosphere.</p>.<p>As a result, NASA sends 160 pounds of clothing per crew member to the International Space Station per year.</p>.<p>For the longer run, with the US agency and Elon Musk's Space X eyeing manned missions to Mars, there needs to be a more sustainable solution.</p>.<p>Labeled NASA Tide after P&G's main washing powder, the first tests on the new detergent to evaluate the effects of micro-gravity and radiation will take place on a cargo flight to the ISS next year and, subsequently, in the space station itself.</p>.<p>P&G will also send some additional equipment for treatment and image analysis, even though the ISS has most of the equipment necessary for the experiments.</p>.<p>Identical experiments will be conducted on Earth at the same time, using the same materials in order to study the differences, P&G said.</p>
<p>Ever wondered how astronauts aboard the International Space Station do their laundry?</p>.<p>Well, they don't, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working hard to solve what is one of the most thorny tasks in space - washing clothes.</p>.<p>The space agency is planning to conduct a series of experiments using specially designed detergents from Procter and Gamble to find a long-term solution to the problem, the US consumer goods giant said on Tuesday.</p>.<p>The vital nature of water on space missions has meant that astronauts have simply jettisoned used clothes, happy in the knowledge they will disintegrate as they re-enter the atmosphere.</p>.<p>As a result, NASA sends 160 pounds of clothing per crew member to the International Space Station per year.</p>.<p>For the longer run, with the US agency and Elon Musk's Space X eyeing manned missions to Mars, there needs to be a more sustainable solution.</p>.<p>Labeled NASA Tide after P&G's main washing powder, the first tests on the new detergent to evaluate the effects of micro-gravity and radiation will take place on a cargo flight to the ISS next year and, subsequently, in the space station itself.</p>.<p>P&G will also send some additional equipment for treatment and image analysis, even though the ISS has most of the equipment necessary for the experiments.</p>.<p>Identical experiments will be conducted on Earth at the same time, using the same materials in order to study the differences, P&G said.</p>