Source of foul smell at the International Space Station was solved; here's where the stench was coming from and how it was handled

Once the source of the unwanted odour has been identified, the Russian shipment to the space station is unpacked. When a Russian spacecraft docked at the International Space Station over the weekend, astronauts noticed a strange odour emanating from the spacecraft and immediately closed the hatch, only to open it again on Monday, as quoted in a report by Fox Weather.

On November 21, the Progress supply mission, which brought supplies for the crew of the space station, took off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. At 9:31 a.m. ET on Saturday, the spacecraft docked at the Russian Poisk module, according to NASA.

NASA claims that after opening the Progress hatch, the Roscosmos cosmonauts detected an unexpected odour and observed small droplets. The remainder of the Russian segment was sealed off, and the hatch was closed.


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Roscosmos cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Aleksandr Gorbunov successfully reopened the hatch and unpacked the supplies, which included almost three tonnes of food, fuel, and supplies, according to a NASA update released on Monday.

Flight controllers on the ground activated air scrubbing equipment as part of normal procedures, indicating that the odour likely was outgassing from materials inside the cargo spacecraft, according to NASA.

The crew reported the odour dissipated quickly, and cargo transfer operations are proceeding on schedule. NASA reported that Vagner took pictures of the interior of Progress and cleaned the ventilation system in addition to scrubbing the air. Before undocking and getting rid of the crew's trash, Progress is anticipated to stay docked at the ISS for six months.

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FAQs

Why was the Progress spacecraft's hatch initially closed?
Cosmonauts detected an unexpected odour and droplets when they opened the hatch, so it was closed. To deal with the problem, precautionary air-scrubbing equipment was turned on.

What did the Progress spacecraft send to the ISS?
Progress has delivered nearly three tonnes of food, fuel, and supplies to the ISS crew and will remain docked for six months.