Watch Chinese astronauts get haircuts aboard Tiangong space station (video) (Image Credit: Space.com)
China’s Shenzhou 17 astronauts have been taking care of grooming alongside their on-orbit obligations.
Mission commander Tang Hongbo and rookie crewmates Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin recently helped each other get haircuts aboard the Tiangong space station.
Video released by CMSA, China’s human spaceflight agency, shows Tang Shengjie cutting the hair of his colleague Jiang Xinlin using a smart device that also acts as a vacuum cleaner. The device sucks up hair to minimize potential risk of it clogging up the space station’s hardware.
Related: How to see and track the Tiangong Chinese space station
A similar cut and vacuum system has long been used on the International Space Station.
The footage also shows Tang Hongbo using special shower caps to wash his hair. The first shower cap contains shampoo to be rubbed into the hair. A second cap contains water to clean and rinse the hair, which is then dried with a towel.
Shenzhou 17 arrived at Tiangong on Oct. 26. The crew took control of the station from the departing Shenzhou 16 mission crew days later and have now been in orbit for over 50 days.
Daily work has included moving equipment outside the space station for experiments, managing equipment and facilities and maintaining science facilities for long-term research. The crew also returned some spectacular views from their location in orbit.
The astronauts will remain aboard Tiangong for a total of around six months. They are expected to receive the Tianzhou 7 cargo resupply mission in January.
