One small step for periods in space, one giant leap for research into long-term space missions

Before NASA astronaut Sally Ride’s historic launch aboard the Space Shuttle as the first American woman in space in 1983, she was asked a question: Would 100 tampons be the right number for her week-long mission?

“No,” she said. “That wouldn’t be the right number.”

Even in this day and age,Pictures of menstruation still seem taboo. (CBC News contacted half a dozen former astronauts, including NASA’s astronaut public relations team, who either did not respond or declined our requests for interviews.)

But if we’re going to be going into space more than ever before – and on longer missions – then it’s something we can’t ignore.

For those who don’t know, people who menstruate usually do so once a month, and their periods last anywhere from 1 to 2 hours on average. four to seven days,

There are a variety of ways to manage menstruation. People can use tampons, menstrual pads or menstrual cups. There are also intrauterine devices (IUDs), inserted with hormonal versions, that can stop missed periods.

But how do you manage this in space? A new study published in the journal Nature NPJ Women’s Health is considering giving menstruating astronauts a new option.

Getting your period in space provides some challenges. Most astronauts who menstruate choose to use hormonal methods to stop their menstruation altogether, although some choose pads or tampons.

But now, researchers have completed lead testing of another potential option for menstruating astronauts: the menstrual cup.

“We want to give women different options because right now, estCaterina Miranda, a science communicator and co-author of the new study, said, “Let’s say, Onats are induced for menstrual suppression. And since we already have solutions on Earth that are sustainable and that we can use, why not try it in space conditions and adapt what we have on Earth for space and these long missions?”

Menstrual cups are reusable, flexible bell-shaped devices that are inserted into the vagina to collect blood.

This could be a viable option for astronauts who do not want to stop their periods.

The mission, called AstroCup, launched two cups on a suborbital, uncrewed flight (meaning it was not in Earth orbit) to measure temperature, acceleration and humidity. They then tested the integrity of the cups using water and glycerol, a liquid that mimics the viscosity of blood. The test was successful, with the integrity of the cups intact.

look beyond the moon

In early 2026, the Artemis II crew – along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Reed Weisman – are scheduled to depart for a trip around the Moon. With the goal of Mars, it is considered the first step in returning humans to the Moon.

Going to Mars will be a year long mission. And it will require a lot of supplies, which are expensive to launch: every kilogram counts.

“It’s just a situation where people didn’t know this could be a problem, because no one thought about it,” said study co-author and astronomer Ligia Coelho. “So we decided to continue these experiments and then it opened up a new area that we created.”

According to researchers, instead of packing pads and tampons for years, the menstrual cup may be a better option, as it is lightweight and reusable. Another consideration is that pills used to suppress periods will likely expire during the mission.

But the Cup is not the only new option, Coelho said.

“Now we’re being contacted by all these other people who might be interested in shipping other types of menstrual devices. We’ve partnered with a menstrual cup company that is very eager to help us continue these experiments.”

The main goal of the study authors is to provide astronauts with options.

,I don’t think a lot of people realize that in the next few years, in a few years, we’ll be going back to the moon. And within the next decade, Mars is also on the table,” said study co-author Adam Langeveld.

And for a successful mission, the most skilled people need to be hired, he said.

“You don’t want to be limited by having a barrier to entry for a certain group of people. So that’s my motivation for getting involved…to make sure these missions are as successful as possible. And one way to do that is to provide access for everyone.”

more than just periods

Shawna Pandya is Canada’s first designated commercial female astronaut to fly aboard Virgin Galactic’s new Delta class spacecraft With the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) in early 2026. She is also a physician with a special interest in women’s health, who has conducted several researches on women’s health in space and human space life.

This includes research on IUDs in parabolic flights (a flight that simulates low gravity) that can also be used in space.

“(IIAS) were the first in the world to demonstrate the feasibility of IUD insertion and removal in microgravity in parabolic flight,” he said. “This…was to address some of the concerns of menstrual health management and menstrual suppression for long-duration space flight.”

(No, they didn’t do this on real people; They used a model of the uterus,

Pandya is excited to see more research being done on human presence in space, beyond menstrual options.

“I am the head of space medicine Advanced Space Life Research InstituteAnd literally we’re looking at roadmaps and ideas around human sexuality and reproduction in spaceflight,” she said,

This also includes sex.

“Now, in the era of commercial human spaceflight, when you know, you can’t really dictate what people do, especially when we’re hearing about proposals for space hotels,” he said. “We all know what people do in hotels.”

As for the Cornell researchers, they say the next step is to test the cup in space to see how it performs with radiation and more, as well as find ways to disinfect the cups.

But she’s excited about the possibilities that will now be available to menstruating astronauts.

“These options are not rocket science,” Coelho said. “There’s really no excuse for not putting them on the table.”