Astronauts Report Alarming Stench Coming From Russian Spacecraft Docked to ISS

A Russian spacecraft docked to the International Space Station (ISS) didn’t conscionable bring supplies to the ISS—it besides brought a foul odor. The unpleasant aroma was beardown capable to punctual astronauts to adjacent the hatch connecting it to the remainder of the abstraction presumption and initiate anti-contamination procedures.

The Progress 90 cargo vessel arrived astatine the Russian Poisk module astatine 9:31 a.m. ET connected Saturday, November 23, delivering astir 3 tons of food, fuel, and supplies for members of the Expedition 72 unit connected committee the ISS. After opening the hatch betwixt Progress and the Poisk module, the unit noticed a noxious odor and droplets coming from the cargo ship. The Roscosmos cosmonauts closed the hatch immediately, fearing a imaginable contamination hazard, RussianSpaceWeb.com reported based connected connection betwixt ngo power successful Houston and the ISS astronauts.

NASA confirmed the report, adding that the foul odor does not bespeak a information interest for the ISS crew. “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 wrote connected X. “There are nary concerns for the crew, and arsenic of Sunday afternoon, the unit is moving to unfastened the hatch betwixt Poisk and Progress portion each different abstraction presumption operations are proceeding arsenic planned.

The Russian astronauts reportedly donned protective instrumentality and activated an air-scrubbing strategy connected committee the Russian module to scrub the abstraction station’s ambiance from imaginable contamination, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com. The U.S. conception of the abstraction presumption activated its ain air-scrubbing system, the Trace Contaminant Control Sub-assembly, portion the hatch to Russia’s Poisk module remained closed. RussianSpaceWeb.com added that NASA astronaut Don Pettit reported a “spray-paint like” odor successful a U.S. module, but it wasn’t wide whether that odor is related to the Russian cargo ship.

Russia’s Progress 90 cargo vessel volition enactment docked astatine the ISS for astir six months earlier making a fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, wherever it volition pain up, on with trash loaded onto the spacecraft by the crew.

The abstraction station’s Russian module is already not successful large shape. In 2019, an aerial leak was discovered successful the vestibule (named PrK) that connects a docking larboard to the Russian Zvezda module, which Roscosmos had launched to debased Earth orbit successful July 2000. Earlier this year, NASA elevated the leak to the highest level of risk arsenic the complaint of aerial escaping from the module had doubled from 1 lb of aerial per time to a small implicit 2 pounds. The reason down the leak remains contentious, with NASA and Russia disagreeing connected the probable cause.

Russian spacecraft person besides experienced issues, with back-to-back coolant leaks taking spot successful 2022. In December 2022, crushed teams observed a fountain of particles pouring retired from a Soyuz spacecraft docked to the ISS. Shortly after, a Russian Progress 82 freighter docked to the ISS besides began leaking coolant successful February 2022.

Tensions are already precocious betwixt NASA and its Russian counterpart, with Roscosmos hesitantly agreeing to enactment connected the ISS until 2028 (the abstraction presumption is owed to discontinue successful 2030). The aging hardware is showing signs of deterioration and teardrop from the harsh abstraction environment, but the 2 abstraction agencies can’t look to hold connected the level of severity of these issues.