() – Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) were forced to briefly shut down a segment of the orbital laboratory this weekend after encountering an “unusual odor” emanating from a visiting cargo spacecraft called Progress 90, NASA said this Sunday.
The smell – along with the “droplets” that Russian cosmonauts, or astronauts, said they observed – likely resulted from “outgassing of materials inside the (Russian) Progress spacecraft,” NASA said in a statement to on Monday. the afternoon.
“There are no concerns for the crew,” according to Kelly O. Humphries, chief news officer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The Progress unmanned capsulewhich can transport scientific experiments, propellant, food and other supplies to the ISS, runs on a fuel called asymmetric dimethylhydrazine and an oxidizer called nitrogen tetroxide. Both are highly toxic to humans. However, Humphries confirmed that propellants do not appear to be the cause of the problem.
“Degassing” is a freak which can occur when man-made objects leave the protective bubble of the Earth’s atmosphere and enter the radiation-ridden environment of space, where temperatures They can also oscillate between 250 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit below zero (121 and 158 degrees Celsius below zero).
The potentially degassing “materials” NASA was referring to inside the Progress capsule did not include fuel, Humphries said by email.
“For any detailed information on what caused the unusual smell, please contact (Russian space agency) Roscosmos,” Humphries said.
Roscosmos did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
NASA indicated in its statement this Sunday that, after the Russian cosmonauts noticed the smell, they closed the hatch that connects the Poisk module, 4.88 meters long and 2.56 meters wide, along with the rest of the space station.
Flight controllers on the ground then “activated air washing equipment as part of normal procedures, indicating that the odor was likely coming from materials inside the Progress spacecraft,” according to NASA’s statement to .
“The crew reported that the odor quickly dissipated and cargo transfer operations are proceeding as planned,” the statement said, indicating that cosmonauts were able to access supplies stored aboard the Progress vehicle, despite of the previously reported odor.
In a separate statement Posted on social media this Sunday, NASA also noted that “air scrubbers and pollutant sensors” confirmed that “air quality inside the space station (was) at normal levels.”
The Progress vehicle – one of a long series of resupply ships that have visited both the Russian and NASA-controlled part of the space station – arrived at the ISS after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on November 21. It was carrying “nearly three tons of food, fuel and supplies,” according to NASA.
Although the unexpected odor and temporary closure of the Poisk hatch appears to have been a brief, isolated incident, it adds to a years-long saga involving another Russian-controlled module on the ISS, called Zvezda.
That segment remained closed for the most part due to a slow air leak. Cosmonauts only enter the module to unload cargo from visiting spacecraft, according to NASA.
Since 2000, the space station has hosted rotating crews of cosmonauts and astronauts – from more than 20 countries – in separate but connected sections of Russia and the United States.
NASA hopes to continue operating the ISS with its five partner agencies at least until 2030. In addition to Roscosmos, these partners are the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Russian authorities, however, have not committed to the space station beyond 2028 and are unlikely to give firm answers about Roscosmos’ involvement after that deadline. until at least 2025according to a recent report from the NASA Office of Inspector General.
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