Spaceflight-tested menstrual cup offers choice on long missions
The challenges of sustaining human life in space are well-documented, from eating from pouches to sleeping in bags tied to walls. But what about menstruation? Female astronauts must plan for this process, especially on longer missions, as basic human needs require scientifically tested solutions in space.
"We're developing systems to make humans survive in places we're not supposed to be," says astrobiologist Lígia Coelho, 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow in astronomy at the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and fellow at the Carl Sagan Institute. "The farther we go, to the moon and Mars, the more challenging it becomes."
Coelho is leading research with AstroCup, a group that recently tested two menstrual cups in spaceflight as a payload on an uncrewed rocket flight. Their container, designed by aerospace engineers, measured temperature, acceleration, and humidity. The results are detailed in the paper "One Giant Leap for Womankind: First Menstrual Cup Tested in Spaceflight Conditions," published on December 2 in npj Women’s Health.
Co-authors include Catarina Miranda, Miguel Morgado, and Diogo Nunes of the University of Lisbon, and João Canas of aerospace company SpinWorks. Contributing authors are André F. Henriques, University of Lisbon, and Adam B. Langeveld, a visiting scholar in astronomy at the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Carl Sagan Institute.
The menstrual cups performed well, according to Coelho, who uses her biology expertise to understand space-related life processes. Through pre- and post-flight testing, the team found that the silicon menstrual cups, made by the Finland-based company Lunette, retained their structural integrity and functionality through 9.3 minutes of flight and extreme acceleration, especially during liftoff and just before the parachute deployed for landing. In fact, they sustained forces higher than those experienced on a crewed flight, Coelho said, indicating they would perform well on a flight with astronauts.
A water test after the flight confirmed the cups' structural integrity, and a test with glycerol, a blood analogue, confirmed their functionality.
"When something is done on a rocket payload for the first time, the paper is used as a methodology precedent," Coelho explained. "We wanted a robust methodology that others could replicate. We put a lot of thought into how to consistently achieve this with a good control setting."
With these results, Coelho and her team demonstrate that a silicon menstrual cup from a standard brand on Earth will work in space flight conditions. They are also setting the stage for a larger discussion within the space industry, Coelho said.
"I get passionate about why menstrual devices aren't in space," she said. "We need to have a serious conversation about health autonomy in space."
Most astronauts who menstruate suppress menstruation hormonally on missions lasting up to six months. While packing pads or tampons is an option, dealing with single-use materials on a years-long mission to the moon or Mars would be unsustainable, Coelho noted. At those long-term timelines, hormonal suppression becomes more challenging, requiring packing years of medicine. NASA is also investigating the links between hormonal suppression and blood clots, Coelho said. Under these conditions, choices around menstrual health will be essential, not just convenient.
Without workable options, women on missions lasting five, 10, or more years might need to put their reproductive health on hold. Additionally, using preferred methods of menstruation care could enhance astronauts' productivity and happiness on long missions.
Cleaning and reusability must be studied, but portable sterilization kits used on Earth for camping or hiking trips could be repurposed for space, she suggested. Menstrual underwear is another simple solution, closely related to current practice – all astronauts on the International Space Station wear single-use underwear.
In February, the AstroCup team (consisting of professionals in science and space fields who volunteer their time) sent menstrual cups with crew members on the simulated Hypatia II Mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, collecting data on usability and astronauts' reactions.
Their next step is to send more rocket payloads into space, with the goal of placing various menstrual devices on the International Space Station.
"It's validated, it works," Coelho said. "Now we can start implementing and redefining health autonomy in space."
Kate Blackwood is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.
