Today I took a chemshower. That's what we call getting clean without using very much water, or very much of anything at all. It's a great way to get clean in space or on Mars, because there isn't very much water (that's because you have to carry all your water with you, and carrying lots of heavy water can be very expensive). So I essentially took a shower without taking a shower, the way many astronauts do.
How does it work? Well, first I took clean clothes downstairs. Then I mixed up my bath - a capful of very concentrated soap poured into about 20 oz. (that's the size of a soda bottle) of water. Then I took a washcloth and used it to give myself a spongebath, making sure to clean behind my ears. After that, I dried off with a towel, and used alcohol wipes on my feet and around the sensitive skin of my face. Then I took special waterless shampoo and washed out my hair. After that, I poured the bathwater down the sink (we have to use special biodegradable soap because all the water we use is recycled to the plants that we are growing in the GreenHab), dressed, and felt much cleaner.
The GreenHab, where our water goes, is a little greenhouse where we grow plants. Sometimes the plants grow well, and we harvest them and eat them. The last crew here had a radish, and we may be able to have some lettuce before we leave. We planted carrots for the next crew to watch. Growing plants may be an important part of life on Mars because anybody who goes to Mars will have to bring three very important things along: food, air, and water. Right now, we have the technology to recycle air. Humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, and there are ways (like the Sabatier process, combined with water electrolysis) to turn the carbon dioxide back into oxygen. Water can also be recycled, because most of the water we use is for washing, cooking, or cleaning, and if we later scrub the dirt out of the water (with filters, evaporation, or something similar), we can use it again and again. But food cannot be made easily. Most things that we call food still need to be made from either a plant or an animal, and there isn't a lot of room on a spaceship or a habitat on Mars for plants to grow or animals to live. But if we could bring along a miniature forest, all our work would be easier. The small plants and trees could recycle our carbon dioxide for us (plants and trees do this automatically on Earth), help clean our water, and grow food for us. Although designing a system to allow plants to grow in such a strange place as Mars or outer space is very difficult, there are still people who want to try it, because a trip to Mars will probably last at least three years, and bringing along a small forest that recycles everything may be cheaper than bringing along just a lot of machinery and chemically recycling everything.
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2 comments:
If everyone could take a 20 ounces shower, that would postpone the water shortage on Earth is facing. How does one wash clothes on Mars or in space?
Very interesting topic, about which I have a bunch of questions:
You described the process of washing, but how did you RINSE the soap residue off of your body? Or are you using a type of cleanser that is not a soap or detergent but something else such as an alcohol-gel-based product? Also how do you handle rinsing your laundry and your dishes?
From my experience designing water conservation systems, rinsing is the most water intensive part of any cleaning process.
With a closed system, it seems to me that one could design for adequate wash/rinse capabilities, the primary constraint being transport of water to Mars, and the need to resupply to make up for water lost to evaporation. Or do you have an evaporation recovery system also? What do you do for water recovery from sewage, and sewage treatment generally? Also what if anything do you do about water recovery from food waste such as vegetable trimmings?
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