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In the Russian part of the International Space Station, cosmonauts are struggling with air supply problems due to a leak.
The space travelers would now have to find the leak because the oxygen reserves were getting smaller and smaller, the state agency Tass reported after switching between the ISS and the control center in Moscow.
It is not clear where exactly the leak is in a transition to the module "Zvezda" ("star"), said an expert on Earth.
The problem with air leakage and pressure drop in the module has existed since August.
Time is running out, the problem must be solved, it said at the flight control center.
The cosmonaut Sergei Ryschkow on the ISS said that the air was escaping from a transition to the "Zvezda" module.
It is unclear where exactly.
It is now being discussed to hermetically seal the part so as not to endanger the air supply.
That will influence the work on the ISS, it said.
As early as October, the crew believed they had found the crack in a transition part of the “Zvezda” module.
The space travelers had used a tea bag for this, which moved in weightlessness towards the leak.
The opening, about 4.5 centimeters long, was plugged.
The cause of the leak was unclear.
Later it turned out that more air was escaping.
Even an outdoor mission in space did not bring more clarity in November.
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Russia's space agency Roscosmos had always emphasized that there was no imminent threat to the crew of the ISS.
On the more than 20 year old space station, breakdowns occur again and again.
Recently there had also been problems with the power supply and the toilet system.
There are currently seven astronauts at the station around 400 kilometers above the earth - two Russians, four Americans and one Japanese.