Astronauts report ‘toxic smell’ coming from Russian spacecraft docked to ISS – and nobody knows exactly what it is

ASTRONAUTS aboard the International Space Station person reported a "toxic" odor coming from a precocious docked Russian spacecraft.

The unpiloted Progress 90 resupply spacecraft, which reached the orbital outpost connected Saturday, has attached to the Russian Poisk module.

Russian cosmonauts instantly identified the odor aft opening the Poisk hatch, and person since sealed it disconnected from the remainder of the Russian segment.

Nasa astronaut Don Pettit besides reported a "pray paint-like" tiny successful the Node 3 module of the US segment, but it was not wide if it had originated from Progress.

“After opening the Progress spacecraft’s hatch, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected odor and observed tiny droplets, prompting the unit to adjacent the Poisk hatch to the remainder of the Russian segment,” Nasa said successful a social media post.

The US abstraction bureau did not picture the odor, but Russian abstraction quality outlet Russianspaceweb.com reported that the unit had described it arsenic “toxic.”

The "droplets" are apt a effect of "outgassing from materials wrong the (Russian) Progress spacecraft,” Nasa told CNN.

"Outgassing" is simply a improvement wherever state trapped wrong a coagulated is squeezed retired during the high-pressure travel from Earth to space, wherever temperatures tin range from 121C to -158C degrees (250F to -250F).

Kelly O. Humphries, the quality main astatine Nasa's Johnson Space Centre successful Houston, said the outgassed droplets wrong the Progress capsule would not beryllium fuel.

Although, erstwhile Russian vehicles person leaked coolant successful space.

The aerial prime wrong the abstraction presumption has been determined to beryllium astatine mean levels.

"Space presumption aerial scrubbers and contaminant sensors monitored the station's ambiance pursuing the observation," Nasa shared successful its statement.

"And connected Sunday, formation controllers determined aerial prime wrong the abstraction presumption was astatine mean levels."

Humphries added: "There are nary concerns for the crew."

The spacecraft volition beryllium docked connected the ISS for six months to beryllium filled with rubbish loaded by crew, earlier it departs for Earth.

The Progress 90 ngo delivered astir 3 tons of food, substance and supplies for the Expedition 72 crew.

The abstraction station's existent unit includes Roscosmos’ Aleksandr Gorbunov, Ivan Vagner and Alexey Ovchinin, and Nasa's Pettit, Nick Hague, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

It comes conscionable months aft Nasa and Roscosmos reported 50 "areas of concern" connected the orbital outpost, which see cracks and leaks, 1 of which has been leaking oxygen since 2019.

The five-year-old leak is contiguous successful the Russian work module, adjacent to a hatch, which was installed successful 2000.

In a caller study from Nasa's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the bureau dubbed it a "top information risk", escalating the menace standing to 5 retired of five.

Nasa is intimately monitoring 4 cracks and 50 different "areas of concern" connected the ageing ISS - which is owed to beryllium retired by the extremity of the decade.

While astronauts tin screen the cracks with patches oregon sealant, these are mostly impermanent solutions.

If the leaks get importantly worse, and commencement to contiguous a danger, astronauts tin adjacent disconnected the passageway completely.

Although that volition mean losing a invaluable docking larboard utilized by Progress and Soyuz spacecraft.