Astronauts At Space Station Find A Strong Smell From Russian Cargo Planes

JAKARTA A Russian cargo plane called Progress 90 landed on the International Space Station (ISS) on November 23. After the landing was carried out, the astronauts smelled a strange smell from their planes.

The plane docked to the Poisk module after traveling more than two days in space with the Soyuz-2 rocket. The landing went smoothly and 2,500 kilograms of cargo managed to arrive safely at the space laboratory.

Hours later, a strong odor was smelled from Progress 90. One of the astronauts on the ISS reported the matter through a communication system with ground controllers. NASA confirmed this report and said it smelled after the hatch door opened.

"After opening the hold of the Progress spacecraft, Roscosmos cosmonauts smelled an unexpected odor and observed a small droplet, prompting the crew to close the Poisk hold of the entire Russian segment," NASA said through the official ISS account.

Although initially worrying, this smell seems harmless. Aviation control is actively monitoring this issue through space station air cleaners and contaminant sensors.

After observing for one day, flight controllers ensure that the air quality inside the station is at normal levels. The ISS astronauts also reopened the hold to access the payload on the plane.

"The quality of the air inside the space station is at a normal level. There is no concern for the crew, and as of Sunday afternoon, the crew is working to open the hatch between Poisk and Progress while all other space station operations are running according to plan," NASA said.

Until now, it is not known where this pungent smell came from and it has not been explained what the picture of it smells like. NASA also did not explain what fluid droplets appeared in Progress 90.