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For earthlings, space has time and again evoked curiosity, leading researchers, and scientists to conduct advanced experiments sending spacecraft to the moon and beyond. But, have you ever wondered what space might smell like? The airless vacuum is unsuitable for humans, however emits various types of smells, just like Earth, and surprisingly unpleasant.
These cosmic odours are generated from molecules present in space, which contain their own strong odours. According to a report by "space.com", astronauts who have gone on various space missions have spoken of strong odours clinging onto their special suits after they returned to their chambers.
During Apollo moon landings, the astronauts would often describe this smell as gunpowder-like, while those on the international space station (ISS) drew a parallel of between the odour and burnt steak.
What Is The Source Of The Smell?
Quoting scientists, the report noted that the source of the 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.
Other researchers also theorised that when astronauts are on a spacewalk, single atoms of oxygen stick to their spacesuit and when they enter the airlock, they combine with the molecular oxygen to emit a sour, metallic smell.
A BBC report claimed 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.
