2009-03-23
Japanese astronaut tests stink-free
underwear
By Irene Klotz
HOUSTON, March 23 (Reuters) - Teen-age boys, are you tired of
embarrassing questions about when you last changed underwear?
Japan's space scientists may have just the answer -- a line of
odor-free underwear and casual clothing.
Koichi Wakata on a previous
mission in 2000 (Photo by AFP)
Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to live on the
International Space Station, is testing the clothes, called J-ware
and created by textile experts at Japan Women's University in
Tokyo.
"He can wear his trunks (underwear) more than a week," said Koji
Yanagawa, an official with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration
Agency.
Wakata's clothes, developed by researcher Yoshiko Taya, are
designed to kill bacteria, absorb water, insulate the body and dry
quickly. They also are flame-resistant and anti-static, not to
mention comfortable and stylish.
Japanese astronaut Takao Doi gave the clothes a trial run during a
shuttle mission last year. Even after a vigorous workout, Doi's
clothes stayed dry.
"The other astronauts become very sweaty, but he doesn't have any
sweat. He didn't need to hang his clothes to dry," Yanagawa
said.
J-ware should reduce the amount of clothing that needs to be sent
to the space station, which has no laundry facilities. Toting cargo
into orbit is expensive, so having clothes that stay fresh for
weeks at a time should result in significant savings.
The Japanese space agency plans to make the clothes available to
NASA and its other space station partners once development is
complete. A commercial line also is in the offing.
Taya also is working with clothing manufacturers Toray Industries
(3402.T) and Goldwin Inc (8111.T). on clothes that have a
microscopically thin chemical layer in the materials.
Wakata, who arrived at the station last week for a three-month
stay, said on Sunday that the clothes appear to be working.
"Nobody has complained, so I think it's so far, so good," Wakata
said. (Editing by Jane Sutton and Cynthia Osterman)
