How Astronauts Cleanse Themselves Of Nitrogen On The ISS, Looks Like Dancing

Illustration (Photo: NASA Gov via Unsplash)

JAKARTA - ESA's Thomas Pesquet and NASA's Shane Kimbrough made their latest spacewalk aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday last week. However, there was an interesting event before they left the ISS.

In his upload on Twitter, Pesquet and Kimbrough are seen doing a dance while wearing their astronaut clothes. It appears Pesquet jokingly described it as a 'spacewalk dance' before giving a brief explanation of the boogie.

"We don't actually dance but cleanse our bodies of nitrogen. We breathe pure oxygen and slowly all the nitrogen in our bodies is replaced by oxygen, which is safer when moving from high pressure (on the ISS) to low pressure (spacesuit). Light weight makes us breathe more oxygen and get rid of nitrogen faster," Pesquet said as quoted by Digital Trends, Wednesday, June 30.

Spacewalk dance! Happy to have finished #spacewalk season for the moment with success. Deserves a little dance. 😊 We were not really dancing though, but purging our bodies of nitrogen! #MissionAlpha https://t.co/AJ7YPYugPD pic.twitter.com/Ab6pFSVeKB

— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) June 26, 2021

NASA said on its official website, astronauts boarded their spacesuits hours before space travel began, in their pressurized suits and filled with pure oxygen.

In the spacesuits, the astronauts breathe oxygen to rid their bodies of nitrogen that can cause gas bubbles to form in the bloodstream and body tissues when they exit the orbiting station.

“These gas bubbles can cause astronauts to feel pain in their shoulders, elbows, wrists and knees. This pain is called 'bending' because it affects where the body bends. Scuba divers can feel it too," NASA explained.

An alternative way for astronauts to expel nitrogen is to spend time in one of the space station's air doors, such as the compartment located between the main body of the ISS and space.

Then, cabin pressure will be reduced in the airlock, which could allow astronauts to safely clean their bodies of nitrogen before exiting the ISS.