Menstrual cups pass space test in new era for female astronaut health care

The mission is the first of its kind (Image: Getty)

Until now, female astronauts have had to rely on hormonal contraception to suppress their periods during space missions. However, a recent project has investigated a potential alternative. In a first mission of its kind, two menstrual cups were launched into space to test their performance under space conditions.

As part of the AstroCup project, the cups were propelled into orbit via a suborbital rocket to assess their performance in spaceflight conditions. The aim was to examine their structural integrity and leak-proof capabilities in the harsh environment. The two orange units were stowed inside a metal box aboard the Baltasar rocket, which was launched by the Rocket Experiment Division (RED) at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal.

Two Lunette Period Cups were used (Image: Lunette Period Cup)

The rocket reached an altitude of 3 km and briefly experienced microgravity - weightlessness - before returning to Earth and landing safely with a parachute.

During the nine-minute flight, key environmental factors such as air pressure, temperature, humidity, and linear acceleration were monitored to evaluate the stress endured by the cups.

The results were successful with no leakage, breakage, or changes in the Lunette menstrual cups, and no contamination. The flight occurred in October 2022, but the full results have only just been disclosed.

Aleksandra Oklinska, co-owner of Lunette, stated: "As space travel expands and more women join missions across national and commercial programs, it's more important now than ever to have these conversations.

"From historic all-female spacewalks to the recent Ax-4 mission led by Peggy Whitson, the astronaut with the most cumulative time spent in space, the need to address menstrual care in orbit is more urgent than ever. Every astronaut deserves access to safe, effective, and sustainable period care."

With future missions potentially lasting years or even decades, astronauts may opt to suppress their periods for comfort. However, this raises concerns about the health implications of prolonged hormone suppression.

There are already concerns about how hormonal contraception performs under microgravity. Documented risks also include increased blood clotting and reduced bone density in crew members using combined hormonal suppression drugs.

Dr. Ligia F. Coelho, the science principal investigator of the experiment, said: "From an early stage of my career, I began to understand the core issue: it's not necessarily about the cups themselves, but rather that these kinds of conversations and tests haven't really taken place yet.

"There seems to be an assumption that the current systems are working well. AstroCup is the first step in the study of the endurance and feasibility of using menstrual devices in space, and this experiment proves that Lunette's menstrual cups withstand the launch environment."