02. Is it possible to shower or take a bath in zero-gravity? (A K2S Question)

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On Skylab we had a shower, which we used once a week on our day off. We took sponge baths on work days. We drew a half-gallon of hot water from the hot water line into a metal container, which was then hooked up to the shower. For showering we had a spray nozzle for wetting down and rinsing. A vacuum cleaner attachment was used to suck off the soapy water and rinse water from our bodies. It worked quite well but took too much time—an hour and a half for everything. For the current International Space Station (ISS) the astronauts wanted something similar to a shower at home but the shower may never be used because, at present, in late 2005, we are not sure if the habitation module which has the shower will ever be launched or attached to the ISS.


Answer provided by Col. USAF (Ret.) William R. Pogue


Image:K2S logosmall.jpg Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer