Haircut on high: Getting a trim in space | Space picture of the day for April 17, 2025

What is it?

A month into his second long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi received a haircut from his crewmate Nichole Ayers.

Onishi shared this photo on social media, commenting on how this haircut by a NASA astronaut was different from his experience with a Russian cosmonaut during his first stay on the station in 2016. “A different level of attention to detail than when I went to Barber Anatoly last time.”

Where is it?

Ayers’ makeshift barber station is in Node 2 “Harmony,” the utility hub aboard the International Space Station.

Between Onishi and Ayers and the open hatch can be seen three of the four crew sleep stations in Harmony (the fourth is in the “floor” as the photo is oriented).

Why is it amazing?

On Earth, other than needing to have a broom nearby to sweep up the cuttings, the hair that is cut off during a trim is not a big concern. In space, though, that hair could float away and clog up air vents or get in or behind equipment. The solution, as seen here, is to have a vacuum at hand to quickly suck up the cuttings before they can float away.

On the plus side, you don’t have to wear a smock, and, after you’re done, “it’s refreshing and makes shampooing easier,” wrote Onishi.

Want to know more?

For another view of an on-orbit haircut, watch Chinese astronauts get trims aboard their country’s Tiangong space station, or read about the astronaut whose haircut was more than just for her but helped out a charity, too.