Two Gen Z aerospace engineers will conduct the first menstrual flow studies in microgravity
Apparently, getting into orbit is far less mysterious than the female body. In 1983, as Sally Ride prepared to become the first American woman to head to space, an all-male cadre of engineers helping her prep famously asked her if 100 tampons would cover a six-day shuttle mission. Some 40 years on, NASA is considerably more hip to women, but little has progressed in menstrual studies in space.…
Two young South Asian women, Manju Bangalore and Priya Abiram, will embark on the first formal research study of menstrual fluid dynamics in microgravity next year. The physicists and aerospace engineers, aged 28 and 22 respectively, plan to conduct the study aboard a Virgin Galactic flight, becoming the youngest women of their heritage in space.
Their mission aims to fill the gaps in menstrual studies in space by providing actual measurements, as most previous information has been anecdotal. With a focus on both flow behavior and the absorption performance of feminine products, the research could pave the way for improved astronaut health and product allocation on longer-duration missions.
The study also seeks to enhance commercially available menstrual products on Earth. Founded by Bangalore as Operation Period, a nonprofit dedicated to providing feminine products to marginalized communities and conducting menstrual research, the mission reflects her childhood dreams and awareness of social inequity. The organization has distributed over 300,000 menstrual products globally and is expanding efforts to address the root causes of menstrual health issues.
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