Colgate-Palmolive has signed an agreement with NASA to advance oral health, personal care and skin health innovation for both astronauts in space and people around the globe.
The Space Act Agreement (SAA) will test Colgate technologies that could help maintain or improve the health and wellbeing of future space travellers in low orbit, either before, during, or after long-duration missions.
The agreement also enables Colgate to utilize the International Space Station (ISS) as an experimental testing ground to discover new insights and accelerate innovations that will promote health and wellbeing for all people on Earth.
Colgate and NASA will explore sustainable hygiene for NASA crew members by testing sustainability innovations that are suitable for space consumption, such as waterless tablets and compact packaging technologies.
SAA findings may help astronauts live more sustainably in space, and they also have the potential to inform further product innovations on Earth.
Other potential SAA topics for Colgate and NASA to explore together include oral care innovations and connected health technologies, preventative and therapeutic skin care technologies, low-water products, and more sustainable packaging suited to space flight and life in low Earth orbit.
Former astronaut Dr Cady Coleman will work alongside Colgate as an advisor to help guide research design and offer insights into the realities of space travel and life in microgravity.
“The International Space Station is our testing ground for future missions to the Moon and Mars, and provides an important opportunity to understand how we can optimize crew health and performance in microgravity,” she said.
“And, like so many of the investigations that we conduct in space, this work can also lead to discoveries that will advance health and wellbeing for everyone here on Earth.”
Colgate chief technology officer Stephan Habif added: “I’m excited to see how the understanding of the peculiar conditions of space travel can yield impactful insights and solutions for all people to have a healthier future – whether they’re traveling to space or going about their day right here on Earth.”
