New Podcast Episode: The Quest for Clean Clothes in Space
Media Credit: Procter & Gamble
As astronauts travel longer and farther from Earth, clean clothes become mission-critical.
November 13, 2026
Astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) can cultivate plants, manufacture materials, complete complex repairs during spacewalks, and conduct groundbreaking research that benefits people on Earth. But there’s still one everyday task they can’t do: wash their clothes. Instead, astronauts must wear clothing for extended periods and then discard it, an approach that becomes increasingly impractical for missions farther from Earth.
On the latest episode of Between a Rocket & a Hard Space, we sit down with Mark Sivik, vice president of R&D at Procter & Gamble (P&G), to discuss the company’s efforts to make laundry in space a reality. Through multiple investigations sponsored by the ISS National Lab, P&G has explored cleaning technologies that could one day allow astronauts to wash and reuse clothing during long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Mark shares the unique journey of bringing Tide research from concept to orbit, the challenges of testing cleaning solutions in microgravity, and the key lessons learned from conducting science in space. He also offers a look at what’s next for P&G as the company expands its role in the growing space economy.
From helping enable future deep-space missions to driving innovations that could benefit consumers on Earth, this conversation highlights how one of the world’s most recognizable brands is tackling a challenge with implications both in space and on the ground.
Tune in to the latest episode of Between a Rocket & a Hard Space to hear the story behind Tide in Space and why the future of space exploration may depend on something as simple as clean clothes.
