Tide in space – the Tide-NASA cooperation

Innovation and pushing the boundaries have always been in our blood, so we decided to start a cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States of America (NASA) to develop the necessary technologies and solutions to be able to clean clothes in space. Resource-constrained environments, like the International Space Station (ISS) or deep space, require thorough testing and studies, which NASA agreed to conduct so Tide can start developing products and solutions for our planet’s resource and environmental challenges.

Continuous commitment to Earth

In line with our Ambition 2030 pledge, and with the help of this Tide-NASA cooperation, we aim to develop products that are efficient in energy, water, and waste throughout the whole laundry lifecycle, from the point they’re manufactured and packaged until they’re used by the consumer. This is how we can reduce the environmental impact of every load we put in our washing machines and increase the impact clean clothes can have for people at the same time.

A truly clean future

The thoughts of mass-space travel and colonisation of other planets are becoming more and more real, while on Earth we face the critical task of having to act fast to save our planet. With our devotion to innovation and discovering new products, the collaboration between Tide and NASA addresses both challenges and helps discover the future of laundry both in space and on Earth.

Clean clothes for astronauts

Living on the International Space Station (ISS) can be challenging. Astronauts must wear clothes multiple times before they’re able to replace them. Crew members are only allowed 72.5 kg of clothing each year during their mission of two to three years. Tide wanted to help them be able to get cleaner clothes more frequently, so we developed a fully degradable detergent to tackle malodour, cleanliness, and stain removal in space. This detergent can be used on washable items during missions in deep space, as well as in a closed-loop water system.

First missions of Tide

Named Tide Infinity, the first Tide formula designed for deep space travel was launched into space onboard a commercial resupply mission on 21 December 2021 to deliver a low-resource detergent to the ISS. With this mission, we can measure how radiation and low gravity affect the formula’s key components, so we can further develop it in the future.

The Tide mission of 2022

In 2022, we planned a follow-up mission to send Tide To Go Pens and Tide To Go Wipes to the ISS so the astronauts can continue testing the stain-fighting power of these products in a low-gravity environment. This way, these Tide products can keep the astronauts on the ISS looking their best and camera-ready whenever they have downlinks to Earth.