NASA astronaut Jonny Kim shared a video showing how they perform cleaning duties on the International Space Station (ISS). Unlike Earth, there is no cleaning crew or robot vacuum cleaner on the station, so astronauts must do this work on their own. However, cleaning in microgravity is an extraordinary sight.
Astronaut Jonny Kim Demonstrates Cleaning in Space
Astronaut Jonny Kim, serving on the ISS, uses a standard vacuum cleaner that appears identical to the one on Earth. However, the weightless environment on the space station makes both the vacuum cleaner and the cleaning process completely different.
Kim secures the vacuum cleaner to his waist and glides through the station, removing dust. Due to microgravity, the dust doesn’t fall to the ground or stick to surfaces. Instead, it circulates freely.
According to Kim, this dust accumulates in the fans, diffusers, and HEPA filters of the environmental control system over time. Therefore, astronauts clean by vacuuming around the filters, which are directly directed to the airflow. So, while they may appear to be “vacuuming the air,” they actually remove the particles that have accumulated.
When asked by a social media user why a rechargeable model wasn’t used instead of a plug-in vacuum cleaner, Kim responded: “Although cordless models are available on the space station, the lithium-ion batteries in these devices don’t have enough capacity to clean the entire station.”
For astronauts on long-term missions to the ISS, cleanliness is crucial not only for hygiene but also for safety. Kim emphasized that the space station is not just a place for research but also a living space, and that the entire crew shares this responsibility.
