Space Station Safety Alert: Toxic Smell Detected After Russian Cargo Docking

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), led by Sunita Williams, noticed a strange smell after the Russian Progress MS-29 cargo spacecraft docked with the station.

The spacecraft brought six months’ worth of supplies to the ISS. When the hatch of the spacecraft was opened, it released a mysterious smell and some droplets, which worried the crew.

The incident happened after the Progress spacecraft successfully docked to the Poisk module of the ISS on Saturday. When the cosmonauts from Russia opened the hatch, they immediately noticed the odd odor and droplets.

They quickly closed the hatch to keep the affected area separate from the rest of the space station.

The astronauts described the smell as "toxic" and acted fast to make sure no harm was done. NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, turned on special air-cleaning systems to purify the air.

These systems made sure that the air was safe to breathe, and the air quality was checked to confirm there was no danger.

After making sure the air was safe, the hatch was reopened on Sunday. The Progress spacecraft will stay attached to the ISS for six months, and after that, it will be filled with trash and burned up when it re-enters Earth's atmosphere.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit compared the smell to "spray paint" and thought it might be connected to the space station's regular operations. However, the exact cause of the smell is still being investigated.

Thanks to the quick actions of NASA and Roscosmos, the astronauts were safe, and everything on the space station continued as planned.