Astronauts are helping to destigmatize a common childhood experience by pointing out the similarities between what some kids wear to bed and what explorers wear into space.
Scott Kelly, who was the first American astronaut to spend almost a year in Earth orbit on board the International Space Station, stars in "Never Stop Dreaming," a minute-long film made by Goodnites as part of its "Mission Dry" campaign. The video was released by the nighttime underwear brand on National Astronaut Day, May 5, which coincides with the event when NASA first learned that it needed absorbent undergarments for its crew members.
"Man, I gotta pee," Alan Shepard, America's soon-to-be first man in space, radioed to the launch control room from atop his Redstone rocket on May 5, 1961. "Check and see if I can get out quickly and relieve myself."
Exiting his Mercury capsule was a time-consuming activity, so it was not an option. At first, Shepard was told just to hold it — when he did launch, his suborbital flight would last only 15 minutes — but delays kept him locked in his spacecraft for hours. Eventually, he was told to go in his suit, even though the liquid could have posed a threat to the electrical leads on his body and the instruments around him.
Kelly did not have that the same concern 54 years later when he wore a spacesuit to work outside of the space station.
"Houston, have many astronauts have peed themselves before?" radios Kelly after admitting to his spacewalking partner, a young boy, that he had just peed in his suit — all as part of the new Goodnites film. The boy says he did the same and is fearing that Mission Control is laughing at him.
"Every single one," replies a female voice from the ground.
"See? All suits come with an absorption system that helps us focus on what is important, so pee can't hold us back! No one is famous for what they do inside the suit. It's only for what they do beyond it," says Kelly.
The video ends with a scene of the same boy sleeping peacefully in bed — the whole thing having been a dream.
"Goodnites has always been there to support kids, and through Mission Dry, we had an opportunity to reimagine what that support could look like," Luiz Sanches, global chief creative and design officer at Kimberly-Clark, which makes the product, said in a statement. "This campaign is about using creativity to shift perceptions — not just of our product, but of what it means to be a kid navigating challenges with courage."
Mission Dry aims at reframing bedwetting as a source of resilience, not shame. The campaign aims to help destigmatize bedwetting by representing children's nighttime underwear through an emotional lens: it's not just about staying dry, but about teaching kids how to stay strong and brave.
"The kids here on Earth who are facing bedwetting issues actually have something in common with astronauts, because they need extra protection and so do we. It's totally normal in my world," said former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman in a video posted to Instagram in support of the Mission Dry campaign.
One of its first activities in April included the distribution of mission patches to help kids feel confident when wearing their Goodnites, no matter the night. The three emblems compare the steps astronauts take, from prepping for their mission and exhibiting resilience to taking command.
As the Goodnites film succinctly puts it, they are on "a mission to prove bedwetting shouldn't hold you back."
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