Cosmonauts will soon switch from wearing linen undergarments to ones made of bamboo while in space, a clothes designer said Thursday.
Until now, cosmonauts have been wearing garments made by Kentavr-Nauka, but the state rocket and space corporation Energia recently commissioned special clothes manufacturer Faradei to make the new clothing, said Natalya Troshina, Faradei's deputy director.
Testing proved that the bamboo fiber was lighter and more durable than linen, Troshina said.
A bamboo t-shirt weighs 150 grams, but the cotton one currently in use is 60 grams heavier, she said.
Faradei is currently making alterations to the garments based on the results of the trials, she added. The company hopes that cosmonauts will start wearing their product from 2014.
