What do you think of this fact?
You can’t smell anything in space. No air, no nose, and without a helmet you’d have much bigger problems. Still, plenty of astronauts have a pretty clear idea of what it smells like out there.
The scent after the trip
According to Space.com, the inside of a spacesuit mostly smells plasticky. The interesting part comes later: when astronauts come back into the station after a spacewalk and take off their helmets, they notice a strong, unusual smell. It clings to their suits, gloves and tools.
Smithsonian Magazine quotes a description that sums it up nicely: bitter, smoky and metallic, like seared steak, hot metal and arc welding smoke all rolled into one. According to Space.com, astronaut Don Pettit called it “a rather pleasant sweet metallic sensation” and compared it to welding fumes he remembered from summer jobs during college. Speaking from orbit in 2009, Kevin Ford said it was like nothing he had ever smelled, but he would never forget it.
Where does the smell come from?
Nobody knows for sure. Space.com names a possible cause: particles that stick to the suits after exposure to the near vacuum, probably including atomic oxygen. Chemist Steven Pearce suggested the metallic note might come from high-energy vibrations of ions.
This isn’t just trivia. According to Space.com, NASA hired Pearce to recreate the smell on Earth so astronauts would know what to expect during training.
Bonus fact: According to Smithsonian Magazine, scientists found ethyl formate in Sagittarius B2, a gas cloud at the center of the Milky Way. It’s a compound that smells of raspberries and rum.
Space is cold, dark and hostile. But it smells like a barbecue.