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Revealed: What Space Smells Like

In two words, not good

By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2012 2:10 PM CDT

(Newser) – Outer space may be soundless, but it's apparently not odorless. Life's Little Mysteries recently stumbled upon a 2009 interview with a NASA astronaut that's too good to not resurrect. In it, Kevin Ford spoke of picking up the weird odor while undertaking spacewalks. It's not something he could smell while embarking on them (the plastic odor of the spacesuit delights the nose then), but once back in the International Space Station, the smell is there: a metallic odor that Life's Little Mysteries describes as having the "aroma of seared steak, hot metal, and welding fumes."

In this image from NASA television, Endeavour astronaut David Wolf floats above Earth.
In this image from NASA television, Endeavour astronaut David Wolf floats above Earth.   (AP Photo/NASA TV)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 27 comments
HeyIdiot
Jul 31, 2012 2:28 AM CDT
"In space, no one can hear you fart, but they CAN smell it..."
Tology
Jul 30, 2012 4:41 AM CDT
Rocket exhaust, dinner and heat shields more likely.
Scaramouche
Jul 30, 2012 12:23 AM CDT
It's what vacuum ablation of the spacewalk suit material smells like after re-entering an atmosphere. All it is. The particle density in the space is too low to offer enough of anything that would register on the nose. But once the astronaut re-enters the shuttle or space station or whatever, the material of the suit is no longer being slowly ionized and boiled away molecules at a time by the vacuum. It has to readjust to both a pressure difference and a temperature difference. During this move to equilibrium enough of the molecules on the skin of the suit are freed that they can be caught by the nose and registered as a smell. You're welcome, Science.

 
astronauts • odor • outer space • astronaut

 
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