A couple of months ago I wrote about a space inspired perfume known on this planet as Eau de Space. Well, as it turns out that was only the beginning of a growing link between space and aroma. For there’s now one more smell related product inspired by space that we have at our disposal thanks to our experience living off world: the VentiFresh ECO air freshener.
Futurism explains:
“Nobody likes bad smells, but when you’re in space, there’s no escape from them. The smells are so intense astronaut Scott Kelly likened them to the smell of a jail. Nor would traditional air fresheners work; they release chemicals into the environment, and you can’t throw open a window to get some fresh air in.
The answer turned out to be photocatalysis, which destroys stench by blasting it with UV light…”
And like GPS, this NASA inspired technology is now making its way into a terrestrial product that you can use to block the smell of your cat’s litter box or rid yourself of any other noxious fumes in your daily life.
But that’s not all. You can also use it to kill airborne germs.
Futurism explains:
“As a bonus, photocatalysis is perfect for removing airborne microorganisms. Just like a human needs to be careful how much UV light they’re exposed to, it’s bad for germs. Short-wavelength UV, also known as UV-C, is particularly nasty in this regard. UV-C destroys nucleic acids and disrupts DNA.
For a human-sized organism, a little UV-C isn’t a big deal; just wear some sunscreen, and the VentiFresh’s UV light is carefully contained to prevent human contact. The much smaller airborne germs, though, when they’re sucked into the VentiFresh, the UV-C light activating the catalyst kills them off, giving you a powerful two for one.”
Powerful enough to aid us against COVID-19? Possibly. But even if it can’t having an air freshener inspired by space is still a pretty cool. You could even say it’s out of this world.
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