A contained hygiene and waste-management architecture for long-duration human spaceflight, enabling real washing with water and soap and reliable waste capture in microgravity.
Core Principle: In microgravity, airflow replaces gravity. CMHS uses controlled airflow, contact-based water delivery, and continuous recovery to make familiar hygiene possible without free-floating liquids.
CMHS treats hygiene as infrastructure, not a workaround.
A compact, sealed environment that isolates the hygiene process from the cabin. Captures droplets, supports airflow control, and enables repeatable operation.
A controlled ventilation system creates a directional flow that acts as “down,” guiding water, vapor, and waste toward recovery zones.
CMHS supports plain warm water, liquid soap, and clean-water rinse. Water is delivered through contact-based applicators or low-velocity emitters to prevent droplet escape.
All liquid is captured immediately via suction and routed into filtration and reclamation systems. No uncontrolled water remains in the enclosure.
A waist-mounted, brief-like personal interface worn during use provides stable alignment and reliable sealing.
Key Insight: The interface comes to the body first, then docks to the system—eliminating reliance on precise crew positioning.
This hybrid approach balances comfort, hygiene, and logistics.
After waste capture, the system provides:
No wipes required. No free-floating droplets.
CMHS leverages existing capabilities:
The primary development challenges are seal design, user comfort, and system integration, not fundamental technology gaps.
CMHS is not a bathroom upgrade. It is a habitability system.
Long-duration spaceflight requires infrastructure that is not only functional, but livable. Hygiene is a core part of that equation.