Posted on 02/09/2011 5:11:35 PM PST by chessplayer
The final frontier smells a lot like a Nascar race—a bouquet of hot metal, diesel fumes and barbecue. The source? Dying stars, mostly.
Though a pure, unadulterated whiff of outer space is impossible for humans (it’s a vacuum after all; we would die if we tried), when astronauts are outside the ISS, space-borne compounds adhere to their suits and hitch a ride back into the station. Astronauts have reported smelling “burned” or “fried” steak after a space walk, and they aren’t just dreaming of a home-cooked meal.
The smell of space is so distinct that, three years ago, NASA reached out to Steven Pearce of the fragrance maker Omega Ingredients to re-create the odor for its training simulations. “Recently we did the smell of the moon,” Pearce says. “Astronauts compared it to spent gunpowder.”
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
I love articles like this - unexpected and interesting. Who would have thought?
That's it? I would have thought hell smelled like that. ;-)
For example, what does Uranus smell like?
The inside of a high vacuum chamber in any laboratory or factory here on Earth can smell pretty odd when you first open it after you’re finished coating, or melting, or sintering, or bombarding, or whatever. Often the smell is somewhat like burning, or hot metal.
didn’t Spock say there were no odors in space when Chekov said something about being close enough to Klingons to smell them.
Hey guys, take this kind of talk over to Jodie Fosters ‘Beaver’ thread ;^)
One has to wonder whether such smells are unique to our Solar System or galaxy, or if it’s like that pretty much everywhere. I couldn’t imagine it being the same everywhere.
You’re right, I love this stuff, too. Plus, you never know when your date or wife will wonder out loud...”Gee, I wonder what space smells like?”
I was expecting cheese.
“Recently we did the smell of the moon,” Pearce says. “Astronauts compared it to spent gunpowder.”
Buzz always did have a lively sense of humor ...
It would smell like the inside of your lung if ya tried to smell it ;~)
The Apollo Astronauts were almost all AF Pilots or Navy Aviators. Some of them likened the smell of moondust to the smell of spent cannon rounds. Not BP, then.
As I recall, a few of the moonwalkers were concerned over the effects of breathing and ingesting moondust. After a moonwalk the LEM was grotty with the stuff. It was quite sticky.
In response to this news San Fransisco libs have moved to ban all outdoor Bar-B-Que till Al Gore can set up a ‘Space smell exchange fee’./s
I find information like this to be more valuable for my mental well being than anything else. I’m willing to bet that sleep tonight is going to include this tidbit in my dreams. Much better than politics and world turmoil for a change.
wow
It has a certain
Or oddly enough reminiscent of chewing gum (back when it was wrapped in aluminum foil)
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