COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Laundry might not sound like rocket science, but for a group of undergraduate students led by a University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), it just became a mission backed by NASA.
Blake MacDonald, a biology student at UCCS is the chief scientist for “Team 25.” The student-led collaboration is tackling the challenge of washing clothes in space, without using water, soap or gravity.
“I think it’s a way to allow astronauts to be one step closer to being independent from Earth,” MacDonald said.
Their project, called Supercritical CO2 Recapture Bioscrubber and Detergentless Ultra-cleaning Bay (SCRBaDUB), uses supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) to clean clothing.
Instead of traditional washing methods, the system pushes CO₂ through fabric in a way that removes organic and inorganic material without damaging the clothes or wasting precious water.
“Basically what we're able to do is pass in a liquid state, or in a supercritical state, CO₂ through clothing and remove any matter while keeping the clothes clean,” MacDonald explained.
Team 25 includes students from multiple universities across the U.S., collaborating entirely remotely. You can view the list of students below:
- Austen Williamson- (Principal Investigator), Mechanical Engineering and Management graduate, University of Wyoming
- Autumn Highland -(Project Manager), Mechanical Engineering graduate, University of Wyoming
- Blake MacDonald (Chief Scientist), Biology student, University of Colorado Colorado Springs
- Matthew Litster (Chief Engineer), Chemical Engineering student, Arizona State University
- Nathan Truong , Chemistry student, Cypress College (California)
- Wesley McClellan, Biochemistry student, Colorado School of Mines
- Delina Yirgaalem, Biomedical/Medical Engineering student, University of Texas, San Antonio
- Esteban Hernandez, Biomedical Engineering graduate, University of Houston
Despite the logistical challenge of working entirely online and across time zones, the team’s creative concept was selected for a competitive $10,000 grant from NASA’s ‘Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge.’
Only two teams out of more than 400 applicants received the award.
“I was in my dorm at the time, and I just screamed like, ‘Oh my god!’ Winning $10,000 for a grant is something that never happens to a lot of people, especially undergraduate students,” MacDonald said.
NASA’s interest in a space laundry system is practical. On long-duration missions to the Moon or Mars, astronauts can’t bring unlimited clothing. Reusing clean clothes reduces waste, limits the need for extra cargo and prevents hygiene-related illnesses.
“So that they [astronauts] can not only perform better on their own research, but also… not get sick or, you know, get an infection if they got a cut and they're wearing a shirt that has a bunch of sweat on it,” MacDonald said.
With their grant, the team isn’t building a final product, yet. They're currently developing a functional prototype they hope will open the door to further research and funding.
“We're using the $10,000 to create a functioning design that we can later turn into a model, and then start finding extra funding to develop a final proposal,” MacDonald said.
In the meantime, MacDonald encourages other young scientists to dream big.
“For younger scientists who are just getting into it, look for those opportunities and see what's out there,” MacDonald said.
For 'Team 25,' laundry is no longer just a chore, it’s a mission.
