A Russian spacecraft docked at the International Space Station (ISS) didn’t just deliver supplies to the ISS—it also delivered a foul smell. The stench was strong enough to prompt the astronauts to close the hatch connecting to the rest of the space station and begin decontamination procedures.
The Progress 90 cargo ship arrived at the Russian Poisk module at 9:31 a.m. ET on Saturday, November 23, delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for members of the Expedition 72 crew aboard the ISS. After opening the hatch between the Progress and the Poisk module, the crew noticed a foul smell and droplets coming from the cargo ship. Roscosmos cosmonauts closed the hatch immediately, fearing a possible danger, reports RussianSpaceWeb.com based on the communication between the control of the mission in Houston and the astronauts of the ISS.
NASA confirmed the report, adding that the smell did not indicate a concern for the safety of the ISS crew. NASA wrote in X. “The space station’s astronauts and pollution sensors monitored the station’s atmosphere after seeing it, and on Sunday, flight controllers determined the air quality inside the space station was at normal levels,” NASA wrote in X. “There are no crew concerns, and as of Sunday afternoon, crews are working to open the hatch between Poisk and Progress while all other space station operations continue as planned.
The Russian astronauts reportedly donned protective gear and turned on the air scrubber system on board the Russian spacecraft to scrub the station’s atmosphere for contamination, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com. Part of the US space station opened its air scrubbing system, the Trace Contaminant Control Sub-assembly, while the hatch to the Russian Poisk module remained closed. RussianSpaceWeb.com added that NASA astronaut Don Pettit reported a “spray-paint-like” smell in the US module, but it was not clear if the smell was related to the Russian cargo ship.
The Russian cargo ship Progress 90 will remain stationary at the ISS for about six months before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up, along with the debris loaded by the crew.
The Russian module of the space station is still in good condition. In 2019, an air leak was discovered in the area (named PrK) connecting the docking module port of the Russian Zvezda, which Roscosmos had launched into low Earth orbit in July 2000. Earlier this year, NASA raised the leak to very high levels. at risk as the module’s air output doubled from one pound of air per day to just over two pounds. The cause of the leak remains controversial, with NASA and Russia disagreeing on a possible cause.
Russian spaceships have also experienced problems, with a series of coolant leaks occurring in 2022. In December 2022, ground teams spotted a source of particles from a Soyuz spacecraft tagged to the ISS. Shortly thereafter, the Russian Progress 82 ISS spacecraft also began leaking coolant in February 2022.
Tensions are already high between NASA and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos reluctantly agrees to stay on the ISS until 2028 (the space station is due to retire in 2030). Aging hardware is showing signs of aging due to the harsh environment of space, but the two space agencies do not seem to agree on the severity of these problems.
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