[TheForge] The Smell of Space - sorta OT

[Rob Fertner]

But he says the smell is on the helmets and tools. These being nonpermeable
metals and plastics, I'd say the smell was deposited rather than drawn from
within. Now, I wonder if space would smell different elsewhere? In earth
orbit, you have billions of years of contamination from meteorites hitting
our atmosphere. Atoms of metals are in orbit around the earth. So, space
here would have a metallic smell. What about deep space? Would that have the
same smell? We'll have to wait and smell.

Rob

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Peter Fels And Phoebe
Palmer
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 3:21 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] The Smell of Space - sorta OT

Rob;
Isn't that more likely to be the smell of the suit pulled to it's 
surface by the vacuum of space?...pf

Rob Fertner wrote:
> "The following are from a series of articles on the NASA website  by ISS
> Science Officer Don Pettit:
> 
> 
> The Smell of Space
> 
> Few people have experienced traveling into space. Even fewer have
> experienced the smell of space. Now this sounds strange, that a vacuum
could
> have a smell and that a human being could live to smell that smell. It
seems
> about as improbable as listening to sounds in space, yet space has a
> definite smell. Being creatures of an atmosphere, we can only smell space
> indirectly. Sort of like the way a pit viper smells by waving its tongue
in
> the air and then pressing it to the roof of its mouth where sensors
process
> the molecules that have been adsorbed onto the waggling appendage. I had
the
> pleasure of operating the airlock for two of my crewmates while they went
on
> several space walks. Each time, when I repressed the airlock, opened the
> hatch and welcomed two tired workers inside, a peculiar odor tickled my
> olfactory senses. At first I couldn't quite place it. It must have come
from
> the air ducts that re-pressed the compartment. Then I noticed that this
> smell was on their suit, helmet, gloves, and tools. It was more pronounced
> on fabrics than on metal or plastic surfaces. It is hard to describe this
> smell; it is definitely not the olfactory equivalent to describing the
> palette sensations of some new food as "tastes like chicken." The best
> description I can come up with is metallic; a rather pleasant sweet
metallic
> sensation. It reminded me of my college summers where I labored for many
> hours with an arc welding torch repairing heavy equipment for a small
> logging outfit. It reminded me of pleasant sweet smelling welding fumes.
> That is the smell of space."
> 
> 
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