Russian Cosmonauts Use Balinese Orange Skin To Air On International Space Station

Russian Cosmonaut Ivan Vagner. (Sergey Savostyanov / TASS)

JAKARTA - Russian Cosmonaut Ivan Vagner revealed the use of oranges and Balinese peels to refresh air in the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), helping to increase the crew's enthusiasm in space.

Ivan, who also acts as the 'special' correspondent for the TASS news agency in space, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit went on a mission to the ISS on September 11, 2024 using the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft.

"Air on the ISS is like a room that has not been in the air for a long time. When I first arrived at the station, I was surprised because there was no pungent smell. Yes, the air was indeed stuffy, but in reality it was much better than I expected," he told TASS after completing its mission and returning to Earth, as quoted July 10.

"Of course, if you open hot food or canned food, the smell will appear. What's more, when fresh oranges orbali oranges arrive on the spacecraft, we eat the fruit meat and deliberately destroy the skin, so that essential oil spreads throughout the module. The aroma is very fun and immediately increases our spirits," Vagner said.

Vagner and two of his colleagues carried out six months of missions on the ISS. While there, his activities included 42 experiments, three of which were carried out for the first time.

Ovchinin previously said their scientific activities would include experiments in medicine, biology, remote sensing of the Earth and other areas.

Vagner said, while in space, he missed "simple earthy things, especially the sound of rain."

"During the first mission, I spoke to my wife a month after the launch, it was May. She said, 'Hujan is very heavy today!'" Instantly, I can clearly hear the sound of the rain pioneer hitting the roof in my mind. I realized how much I missed such sounds. There is a constant buzz from the ventilation system and the same visual environment at the station, unless you look out of the illuminator. The brain lacks information, certain stimulus. And when it receives it, very clearly emotions arise," he said.

On April 20, Ovchinin, Vagner and Pettit were reported back to Earth after completing their mission on the International Space Station on the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft and landing in Kazakhstan.