Japanese spaceflyer Takao Doi not only brought up his nation’s new orbital room to International Space Station (ISS), but also another special payload: Some high-tech undies.

Since arriving at the ISS aboard space shuttle Endeavour, Doi has also been sporting specially designed shirts, pants and shorts under the name “J-WEAR.” Each article, according to a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) release, is finished with a special nanotech fabric that can reportedly:

• Repel static
• Wick away water
• Kill bacteria
• Neutralize odors
• Prevent “fouling”, or permanent odor infusion

A JAXA handout on the space clothing being tested on STS-123. Credit: JAXA.

Doi’s cutting-edge threads are also crafted without any seams, and have easy hook-and-loop fasteners (which are oddly the only fire-retardant portion of his clothes).

No word yet on how the deodorizing properties of JAXA’s super-clothes are going to be evaluated, but one might expect some scientific analysis on par with Odor-Eaters annual “Rotten Sneaker Contest.”

Commanded by Dominic Gorie, the STS-123 Endeavour crew – and Doi’s new clothes – are slated to return to Earth the night of March 26.

Click here for SPACE.com’s continuing coverage of the STS-123 space shuttle mission.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Space & Astronomy, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.