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We now know that life in space is pretty similar to how we live here on Earth. Astronauts living on the International Space Station (ISS) eat, sleep, work and can even play games in space - just like we do!

However, there's one task that space explorers haven't quite been able to get to grips with - washing their dirty clothes!

So how do astronauts do their laundry in space? Well the answer is, they don't!

On Earth, many of us are able to stick our stained or smelly clothes in the washing machine to get them nice and clean again before we re-wear them. However, there currently isn't a way for astronauts to do the same.

There aren't washing machines on the ISS as they would use up lots of water which is very limited in space. Astronauts mainly use water to drink and wash, and the majority of water is actually recycled!

Transporting water from Earth is very expensive and water is also a heavy substance which requires lots of energy to get up into space. It means there's only a certain amount of water a rocket can physically transport to the ISS.

Most of the water on the space station comes from people's sweat and breath which is collected as condensation on the station's walls, as well as urine and recycled water from showers. The water goes through a number of processes to get it clean and ready for use once again.

So what do astronauts do with their clothes?

They each have a limited number of items as it would cost a lot of money to regularly send fresh clothes to them from Earth. These are worn again and again until they're too smelly or dirty to wear anymore. Certain items of clothing can be worn for days, weeks or even months at a time.

Unlike on Earth, astronauts' clothes don't pick up dirt from outside their home so their clothes tend to get dirty less quickly. The temperature on the ISS is also carefully controlled, which means astronauts don't tend to sweat a lot.

The lack of gravity also means everything is space is pretty much weightless, so astronauts don't have to use as much energy moving around or carrying out their daily tasks as humans living on Earth do.

However, they do have to spend lots of time exercising each day to keep their bodies in tip top shape so they aren't impacted by the conditions in space and this can leave clothes stiff and sweaty.

There does come a time when astronauts have to get rid of some of their dirty clothes. Some of them are put in cargo spacecrafts which burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, while other more expensive items like spacesuits are sent back to Earth for cleaning and repairs.

Now, Nasa is looking for a way to clean astronauts clothing so they don't have to be thrown away.

The space agency has said it's teaming up with the brand Tide to explore how they can clean astronauts' clothing in their environment which has very limited resources.

Tide has developed a "fully degradable detergent, specifically designed for use in space" which it says will help improve cleanliness and solve stain removal problems for astronauts.

The detergent will be added on a cargo launch to the ISS in 2022 and teams on the space station will be able to test it out.

What do you think about the idea? Do you reckon it'll work? Let us know in the comments!