What Does Space Smell Like? Here's What Astronauts Say

Space has always intrigued people living on Earth. Scientists have made advancements in recent years by sending space probes to Moon and beyond. It is a well-known fact that space is an airless vacuum, so humans have built special suits for astronauts to survive. So, the news about how the space smells is bound to generate interest among people who dream of exploring the deep unknown. You will be surprised to know that just like Earth, the universe emits various types of smells and most of them are unpleasant.

According to a report in space.com, astronauts who have gone on various space missions, have described strong odours clinging on their suits after they return to their chambers.

During the Apollo moon landings, the astronauts described the scent as gunpowder-like, while those who went to the international space station (ISS) compared it to burnt steak.

Where does the smell come from?

Space.com quoted some scientists to say that the source of metallic, burnt meat stink can be attributed to Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are found in charred foods on Earth and routinely occur in outer space.

Some scientists also say when astronauts are on spacewalk, single atoms of oxygen can stick to their spacesuit and when they enter the airlock, they combine with the molecular oxygen (O2) to emit a sour, metallic smell.

The BBC said that Rosetta spacecraft also detected compounds responsible for the smell of rotten eggs, bitter almonds and cat urine, boiling off from the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.

The spacecraft detected a rich variety of molecules in the comet's coma, the gaseous halo that surrounds its solid nucleus.