# How do they clean things in space? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240 "2008-11-18T03:34:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/1 "2008-11-18T03:34:09Z")
Water-based cleaners would be kind of hard to use in zero gravity, wouldn’t they? And cleaning the outside of the spacecraft is a whole nother problem. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/2 "2008-11-18T03:38:18Z")
With a vacuum? 😛 I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. But really couldn’t they use a vacuum? Or perhaps moist cloths? ---
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/3 "2008-11-18T03:52:37Z")
Would they need to clean the outside of the space craft? Would it even get dirty? ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/4 "2008-11-18T04:03:06Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > Would they need to clean the outside of the space craft? Would it even get dirty? I’ve seen it mentioned before on these boards that bacteria/viruses/etc can survive the trip into and returning from the void, so what if we had to protect against Martian plagues? Or, vice versa, prevent our Terran plagues from corrupting the delicate Martian biosystem? However, it is worth mentioning that I cannot recall offhand if those germies were carried on the outside of the spacecraft or on the inside, so my entire premise could be pretty bogus. Although, I do remember that a great deal of care was taken to maintain the sterility of the variety of probes we have sent into other atmospheres. So \*somebody \*must think it is possible that they hitch a ride. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/5 "2008-11-18T04:03:33Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > Would they need to clean the outside of the space craft? Would it even get dirty? Well, there’s lots of little bits of dust floating around up there, and I’ve read that materials in the vacuum of space can break down over time, releasing gases and causing discoloration on the outside of the craft. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/6 "2008-11-18T04:15:57Z")
Inside the spacecraft, sponges. Outside the spacecraft, who cares? ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/7 "2008-11-18T04:38:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Inside the spacecraft, sponges. Outside the spacecraft, who cares? In light of my previous post regarding extraterrestrial study, isn’t the sterility of the outside of the spacecraft a concern? Granted, this concern is limited to the odd extemophilic organism or two, but I’m sure somebody at NASA cares. We don’t want to force panspermia, do we? Of course, what do I know about such things? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/8 "2008-11-18T04:53:48Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > Although, I do remember that a great deal of care was taken to maintain the sterility of the variety of probes we have sent into other atmospheres. So \*somebody \*must think it is possible that they hitch a ride. Please forgive the vagueness of my response in GQ, but it’s been a few years since this happened. I used to work at an explosives testing facility. One of our capabilities was gun tests. We ran anything from 16" air guns to 110mm tank rounds to… well, you name it. There was a series of tests we did that I don’t remember the exact details of. The premise was that they took a rock, I don’t remember if it was a Martian rock, a lunar rock, or just one that had a similar composition, and shot 1/2" ball bearings into it. I don’t remember if the rock had bacteria, the ball bearing had bacteria, and the other one was made sterile, or if they both had bacteria. Anyway, after the impact, we kept them separated and took them to a lab for some type of testing. Sorry I don’t have more details, but I was more interested in working with the car bombs and the rockets for the sled track at that time, so I don’t remember the detail. But, yes, _somebody_ thinks it’s possible and has done testing about the transfer of bacteria and other organisms in that type of extreme environment. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/9 "2008-11-18T05:10:54Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > In light of my previous post regarding extraterrestrial study, isn’t the sterility of the outside of the spacecraft a concern? Granted, this concern is limited to the odd extemophilic organism or two, but I’m sure somebody at NASA cares. We don’t want to force panspermia, do we? > > Of course, what do I know about such things? Well, since we stopped going to the Moon, manned spacecraft have never left low Earth orbit, so it’s not an issue now. But if we do send humans to Mars there may well be some concerns about this. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/10 "2008-11-18T12:45:39Z")
They don’t. That’s why they are referred to as: PIGS IN SPACE. (sorry, a little muppet humor) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/11 "2008-11-18T14:18:26Z")
One of the tasks during the current Shuttle mission involves some cleaning: [Spaceflight Now | STS-126 Shuttle Report | Endeavour to launch on 'home improvement' flight](http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts126/081113preview/) (scroll down towards the end). ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/12 "2008-11-18T14:49:08Z")
I would have thought that the outside of a spacecraft would get nicely sterilized by the heat of re-entry. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/13 "2008-11-18T15:05:51Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > I would have thought that the outside of a spacecraft would get nicely sterilized by the heat of re-entry. Some extremophilic microbes may be able to do just fine in the heat of re-entry. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/14 "2008-11-18T15:43:14Z")
Meteor showers. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/15 "2008-11-18T16:36:54Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Meteor showers. Indeed.. Considering the number of rocks that hit earth every day infested with god knows what, sterilizing the shuttle when it returns shouldn’t be a huge concern. They probably will do all sorts of sterilization and quarantines after a mars mission though. Inside the station, a damp cloth/sponge will clean just fine. ---
**Author:** ![shallora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@shallora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shallora)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/16 "2008-11-18T16:52:07Z")
Comet. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/17 "2008-11-18T19:03:27Z")
When they need to really sterilize something, they use moon shine. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/18 "2008-11-18T19:06:52Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > Some extremophilic microbes may be able to do just fine in the heat of re-entry. Isn’t any organism that can withstand that heat going to be able to withstand whatever puny chemicals we might think to scrub on them, too? ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/19 "2008-11-18T19:24:19Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > One of the tasks during the current Shuttle mission involves some cleaning: [http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts126/081113preview/](http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts126/081113preview/) > (scroll down towards the end). Ah, very interesting. > [@](#): > > During Endeavour’s mission, Stefanyshyn-Piper, Bowen and Kimbrough, working in two-person teams, plan to replace the remaining 11 trundle bearing assemblies, or TBAs, on the right side SARJ. Using grease-impregnated wipes, the spacewalkers will attempt to blot up the metallic shavings contaminating the race. Dry wipes will be used to finish the job and grease guns will be used to lay down beads of lubricant. The drive gear will be turned between spacewalks to let the bearing rollers distribute the grease across all three bearing surfaces. > > A similar lube job is planned for the lab’s healthy left-side rotary joint as preventive maintenance. In both cases, the major challenge will be to keep the grease under control and prevent debris from floating away, contaminating the crew’s spacesuits or possibly working its way into other delicate mechanisms. You know, the ISS is getting pretty big now. It would be cool if there were a life-size model on Earth that you could go and see. Anyone know of anything like that? ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-clean-things-in-space/473240/20 "2008-11-19T00:33:11Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Isn’t any organism that can withstand that heat going to be able to withstand whatever puny chemicals we might think to scrub on them, too? Not necessarily. Just because an organism can withstand heat/radiation/vacuum of space, doesn’t mean it can necessarily withstand certain ph levels or toxic chemicals. There are many different kinds of extremophilic organisms.