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

The current crew of the space station includes Aleksandr Gorbunov, Ivan Vagner, and Alexey Ovchinin from Roscosmos, along with NASA’s Pettit, Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore.

Commander Sunita Williams led astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in detecting a concerning “toxic smell” emanating from a Russian spacecraft docked at the station. According to CNN, the spacecraft, Progress 90, was carrying supplies such as food, fuel, and equipment. When the cosmonauts opened the hatch, they noticed an unexpected odor and small droplets. They quickly closed the hatch and activated air scrubbers to remove any contaminants. Flight controllers on the ground then activated air scrubbing equipment as part of normal procedures, suggesting that the odor likely came from outgassing materials inside the Progress spacecraft, according to NASA’s statement to CNN.

After opening the hatch of the Progress spacecraft, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed the unexpected odor and observed small droplets, prompting them to close the Poisk hatch to the rest of the Russian segment, ISS reported in a post on X.

NASA has confirmed that the air quality on the ISS is normal, and the crew’s safety is not at immediate risk. The Russian cosmonauts who opened the hatch wore protective gear as a precaution, and the crew closed the hatch between the US and Russian segments of the ISS.

“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 continue as planned,” said 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, along with NASA’s Pettit, Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore.

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

This incident is the latest in a series of issues involving Russian spacecraft at the space station. Previous problems, including coolant leaks in 2022 and 2023, have raised concerns about the safety and reliability of Russian spacecraft.

Meanwhile, astronauts Williams and Butch Wilmore are 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 issues with Starliner persisted, prompting NASA to decide the capsule would return uncrewed. As a result, Williams and Wilmore will now return to Earth aboard a SpaceX spacecraft, ensuring their safe journey home.

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