Coelho, a 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow in astronomy in Cornell Universitys College of Arts and Sciences and a fellow at the Carl Sagan Institute, leads AstroCup, a volunteer group focused on menstrual health in space. She noted that as human exploration pushes farther toward the moon and Mars, basic physiological processes require reliable systems to keep crews healthy.
To evaluate how menstrual cups perform in spaceflight, the AstroCup team flew two Lunette-brand silicone cups as payload on an uncrewed rocket. Aerospace engineers on the project designed a dedicated container that monitored temperature, acceleration and humidity throughout the flight profile. The team reports its results in the paper One Giant Leap for Womankind: First Menstrual cup Tested in Spaceflight Conditions, published Dec. 2 in the journal npj Womens Health.
Co-authors on the study include Catarina Miranda, Miguel Morgado and Diogo Nunes of the University of Lisbon and Joao Canas of aerospace company SpinWorks. Contributing authors are Andre F. Henriques, also of the University of Lisbon, and Adam B. Langeveld, a visiting scholar in astronomy at Cornell and a fellow of the Carl Sagan Institute.
During the 9.3-minute flight, which included high accelerations at liftoff and again just before parachute deployment, the menstrual cups retained their structural integrity and function. Coelho said the cups experienced higher forces on this uncrewed flight than they would on a typical crewed mission, which gives additional margin for performance in human spaceflight.
Post-flight tests confirmed those findings. Immersion in water showed that the cups structure remained intact, while a separate test using glycerol, a blood analogue, demonstrated that the cups still functioned as intended after the mission. Coelho explained that because this is the first time such a device has flown as a rocket payload, the team aimed to establish a methodology that other researchers can replicate with consistent controls.
The work indicates that a commercially available silicone menstrual cup of a type already used on Earth can operate under spaceflight conditions. Coelho and colleagues also aim to prompt broader discussion across the space sector about menstrual health and medical autonomy for astronauts. She emphasized that menstrual devices have not yet been integrated into spaceflight operations and called for a more systematic approach to providing options.
Currently, most astronauts who menstruate prevent bleeding for missions lasting up to about six months through hormonal suppression. Although packing disposable pads or tampons is technically an option, managing large volumes of single-use materials on multiyear missions to the moon or Mars would create significant waste and logistics burdens.
Extending hormonal suppression to cover missions of five to ten years or longer would also require storing large quantities of medication. Coelho noted that NASA is examining possible links between long-term hormonal suppression and blood clots, which adds another consideration for mission planning. Under those circumstances, having multiple menstrual-care options becomes essential rather than a matter of convenience.
If no workable alternatives are available, astronauts on very long missions could face pressure to defer aspects of their reproductive health for many years. Coelho pointed out that access to a preferred menstrual-care method could also support crew productivity and morale during extended expeditions.
Further research is needed on cleaning and reusability, but Coelho suggested that small sterilization kits already used for camping or hiking on Earth might be adapted for space. She also highlighted menstrual underwear as another straightforward option, closely aligned with current practice, since astronauts aboard the International Space Station already rely on single-use underwear.
In February, AstroCup sent menstrual cups with crew members on the Hypatia II Mission, a simulated Mars expedition at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, to gather data on usability and crew reactions. The team now plans follow-on payloads to continue testing menstrual devices in space, with an eventual goal of placing a range of products on the International Space Station.
Coelho said the recent results demonstrate that the tested menstrual cup design is ready for practical use in space. She argued that the validation achieved so far provides a foundation for incorporating menstrual health into mission architectures and for rethinking how health autonomy is defined in space exploration.
Research Report:One Giant Leap for Womankind: First Menstrual cup Tested in Spaceflight Conditions
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