How Sunita Williams, Her Crew Responded To "Toxic" Odour On Space Station

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), led by Commander Sunita Williams, recently detected a concerning "toxic smell" emanating from a Russian spacecraft docked at the station. According to CNN, the spacecraft, Progress 90, was carrying supplies, including food, fuel, and equipment, but when the cosmonauts opened the hatch, they noticed an unexpected odour and small droplets, prompting them to close the hatch and activate air scrubbers to remove any contaminants. Then 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 Progress spacecraft," according to NASA's statement to CNN.

"After opening the Progress spacecraft's hatch, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected odour and observed small droplets, prompting the crew to close the Poisk hatch to the rest of the Russian segment," ISS wrote in a post on X.

See the post here:

On Nov. 23, the unpiloted Progress 90 resupply spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station's Poisk module. After opening the Progress spacecraft's hatch, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected odor and observed small droplets, prompting the crew to…

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) November 24, 2024

NASA has stated that the air quality on the ISS is normal, and there are no immediate concerns for the crew's safety. The Russian cosmonauts who opened the hatch wore protective gear as a precaution, and the hatch between the US and Russian segments of the ISS was closed. 

"There are no concerns for the crew, and as of Sunday afternoon, the crew is working to open the hatch between Poisk and Progress while all other space station operations are proceeding as planned," according to Kelly O. Humphries, the news chief at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The space station's current crew includes Roscosmos' Aleksandr Gorbunov, Ivan Vagner and Alexey Ovchinin, and Nasa's Pettit, Nick Hague, as well as Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.

Investigators are probing whether the leak originated from within the Progress spacecraft or the vestibule connecting it to the ISS. Notably, Progress is expected to remain docked at the ISS for six months before undocking and disposing of trash from the crew.  The craft will then burn up upon entering Earth's atmosphere.

The incident is the latest in a series of issues involving Russian spacecraft at the Space station. There have been previous incidents, including coolant leaks in 2022 and 2023, which have raised concerns about the safety and reliability of the Russian spacecraft. 

Meanwhile, astronauts Williams and Butch Wilmore are currently awaiting their return to Earth from the ISS after their initial week-long mission in June was extended due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner space capsule. Despite remote repair efforts, the problems with Starliner persisted, prompting NASA to decide that the capsule would return to Earth uncrewed. As a result, Williams and Wilmore will now ride back to Earth on a SpaceX spacecraft, ensuring their safe return.