There is no general cleaning on the ISS — because cosmonauts clean up weekly, usually on Saturdays. This was announced on Cosmonautics Day by the station commander Sergei Kud-Sverchkov in an interview with TASS.
Cleaning in orbit is a separate science. In zero gravity, dust does not settle on the floor, but evenly covers all surfaces around, so you have to wipe literally everything. The portholes are washed only from the inside — for obvious reasons. The procedure is strictly regulated and is included in the individual schedule of each crew member.
The working day on the ISS does not start with coffee at all: first, an inspection of the station and a reboot of onboard computers — and only then breakfast. Another two hours a day are spent on simulators: without physical exertion, muscles and bones degrade in zero gravity.
Kud-Sverchkov contacted on the 64th anniversary of Gagarin's flight — this year, April 12 coincided for the first time with Space Week, established by Putin's decree in December 2025.
Read more materials on the topic:
- «Teledroid» is being prepared for shipment to the ISS: it may fly as early as this year
- The ISS is not being written off into the ocean completely: the Zarya module will be left to operate until 2032
- The ISS awaits the fate of the Mir station: the Americans want to repeat the Russian method of controlled flooding
