During a routine mission delivering approximately 3 tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts detected a foul odor shortly after opening the hatch to the Russian cargo vessel "Progress" and quickly sealed it again. The incident took place on Saturday, and the spacecraft had launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday.
“Upon opening the hatch of the 'Progress' spacecraft, Russian astronauts noted an unexpected smell and tiny droplets, prompting the crew to close the hatch to the 'Poisk' module, which connects to the Russian segment,” NASA reported on Sunday.
According to NASA, air filters and contamination sensors aboard the orbital laboratory monitored the station's atmosphere following the detection of the unusual smell. By Sunday, flight controllers in Houston determined that the air quality inside the space station was normal.
However, the space agency may be downplaying the severity of the incident. Acknowledging the situation, Anatoly Zak from Russian Space Web, a reliable independent site, noted that the odor was "toxic" and led Russian astronauts to promptly seal the hatch leading to the "Progress" spacecraft.
Zak reported that the crew in the Russian segment of the station donned protective gear and activated an additional air purification system. Meanwhile, on the American side of the station, NASA astronaut Don Pettit mentioned that he detected a smell reminiscent of "spray paint."
As of Sunday afternoon, NASA stated that there were no threats to the crew and that astronauts were working on reopening the hatch between the "Poisk" module and the "Progress" spacecraft. "Poisk," which joined the space station in 2009, is a small module that connects to one of the four docking ports on the Russian segment.
What specifically caused the bad odor emanating from the "Progress" transport vehicle remains unknown. However, Russian transport vehicles have previously encountered issues in space. For instance, in February 2023, a "Progress" spacecraft attached to the station lost pressure in its cooling system.
Facing financial and human resource challenges due to the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has encountered a series of technical problems. In recent years, these have consistently surfaced during the delivery of personnel and supplies to the ISS.
Source: arstechnica
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