Panic in space as astronauts on NASA's ISS report 'toxic smell' and 'contamination hazard

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were sent into a panic aft a cargo vessel arrived with a 'toxic smell' and 'possible contamination hazard successful the signifier of droplets.'

The Progress 90 docked with the Russian Poisk module astatine 9:31am ET connected Saturday and Roscosmos cosmonauts identified a odor instantly aft opening the hatch.

The Russian unit rapidly strapped into protective instrumentality and activated an other air-scrubbing strategy aboard their conception of the ISS for astir 30 minutes.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit besides reported immoderate 'spray paint-like' odor successful the Node 3 module of the US Segment, but it was not instantly wide if it had originated from Progress.

'Space presumption aerial scrubbers and contaminant sensors monitored the station's ambiance pursuing the observation, and connected Sunday, formation controllers determined aerial prime wrong the abstraction presumption was astatine mean levels,' NASA shared successful a statement.

The bureau continued to explain that determination are nary concerns for the unit arsenic of Sunday afternoon, but the hatch betwixt the Russian modular and cargo trade is inactive closed.

The Progress 90 arrived astatine the Russian Poisk module astatine 9:31am, delivering 3 tons of food, substance and supplies for members of the Expedition 72 unit connected committee the ISS. 

NASA reported that the US broadside of the orbiting laboratory besides activated its ain air-scrubbing system, portion the hatch to Russia’s Poisk module remained closed.

While Russian outlets reported a toxic smell, NASA told a antithetic story.

'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,' the bureau shared connected X.

Progress 90 is scheduled to enactment docked for astir six months earlier returning to Earth.

The 'toxic smell' comes conscionable months aft a study revealed abstraction bureau and its Russian counterpart, Roscomos, are tracking 50 'areas of concern' related to a increasing leak aboard the station.

NASA called the cracks successful a Russian work module a 'top information risk' - escalating the menace standing to 5 retired of five.

Although officials person been alert of the contented since 2019, the nonstop root of the leak is inactive unknown.

All imaginable cracks person been covered with 'a operation of sealant and patches' but NASA warned that the leak reached its fastest complaint yet successful April this year.

Concerns implicit the station's information are present truthful precocious that NASA has negotiated with Roscomos to lone unfastened the hatch erstwhile indispensable and to support it sealed successful the evenings.

And that's not the lone origin for concern, arsenic the abstraction bureau has warned that the ISS is astatine hazard of being pelted with micro-meteors and abstraction debris.

The aerial leak is located successful the Russian Zvezda Service Module Transfer Tunnel, installed successful 2000, and is utilized to house beingness enactment instrumentality and to entree a Russian cargo dock.

In 2019, it was noted that the module had begun to leak a tiny magnitude of aerial done an unidentified crack.

However, contempt efforts to seal the module, the magnitude of aerial escaping the presumption has lone accrued implicit the past 5 years.

In February this year, NASA was forced to clasp a property league connected the contented arsenic the magnitude of aerial escaping temporarily accrued from 0.2 lbs per time (0.09 kg) to 2.4 lbs (1.08 kg) per day.

A study published successful September by NASA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) confirmed that the leak deed grounds rates successful April - losing 3.7 lbs (1.68 kg) of aerial each day.

This has prompted the abstraction bureau to escalate the menace standing to the highest level and see evacuation plans.

In May and June, NASA officials traveled to Russia to sermon 'heightened concerns' implicit the seemingly increasing leak.

Speaking to the Washington Post, NASA subordinate head Jim Free says: 'We person conveyed the seriousness of the leaks aggregate times, including erstwhile I was successful Russia earlier this year.

'We've travel to a compromise that they adjacent it successful the evening.'

The OIG study states: 'The Service Module Transfer Tunnel leak is not an contiguous hazard to the structural integrity of the Station, and determination are nary existent concerns of semipermanent impacts to the wide structure.'

Likewise, ISS programme manager Joel Montalbano told a property league successful February that the leak was 'not an interaction close present connected the unit information oregon conveyance operations, but thing for everybody to beryllium alert of.'