Russian Spacecraft Emits ‘Toxic’ Smell After Docking To Space Station, Here’s What NASA Said

Astronauts on Sunday reported a strange odor after the Progress spacecraft docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft docked to the station’s Poisk module at 8 pm IST last night with nearly three tones of food, fuel and supplies but soon turned into cause for concern.

The Progress 90 cargo craft from Roscosmos docked during an automated procedure to the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 9:31 a.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. pic.twitter.com/E0EkDiJKmj
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) November 23, 2024

According to NASA, Russian cosmonauts noticed the smell after opening the spacecraft’s hatch and observed small droplets which prompted a closure of the Poisk hatch to the rest of the Russian segment. The Poisk hatch connects one to four docking ports on the Russian side of the space station.

On Nov. 23, the unpiloted Progress 90 resupply spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station’s Poisk module. After opening the Progress spacecraft’s hatch, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected odor and observed small droplets, prompting the crew to…
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) November 24, 2024

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“Space station air scrubbers and contaminant sensors monitored the station’s atmosphere following the observation, and on Sunday, flight controllers determined air quality inside the space station was at normal levels,” NASA said.

On the contrary, an independent website Russian Space Web said that the smell was ‘toxic’ citing communications between the US mission control in Houston and the ISS crew . The cosmonauts then closed the hatch to avoid contamination hazard, Ars Technica reported. American astronaut Don Pettit reportedly revealed that the smell was some what akin to “spray paint.”

But NASA has assured that it poses no threat to the seven astronauts currently in space. “As of Sunday afternoon, the crew is working to open the hatch between Poisk and Progress while all other space station operations are proceeding as planned,” the agency said.

Issues like these are dangerous but are getting more common as the decades old station is facing wear and tear. Recent reports revealed that there has been an air leak which is worsening.

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(Image: NASA)