The Russian State Space Corporation, the Russian State Space Corporation, announced on Tuesday, September 29 that astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) had found the source of the suspected air leak.

According to the report published on the "Universe Today" website on October 6, expedition 63 staff have been searching for this leak since last August, and they decided that it "exceeded expected levels."

Roscosmos said - in a statement posted on the website "Phys.org" - that "it has been proven that the stain is located in the Zvezda (Star) service unit that contains scientific equipment," and stressed that the leak "does not pose a threat to life. The International Space Station crew and their health, does not prevent the continuation of the manned flight in the International Space Station, "however, the amount of lost air may require additional oxygen to be pumped into the station.

The leak was isolated on Monday night (September 28), thanks to the efforts of the crew and analyzes conducted by the mission control teams on the ground.

The crew began examining the leak in the American part of the station, which includes the American, European and Japanese units, and then moved to the Russian part to collect data from various locations.

He proceeded to close the front and rear gates and passages that connect to other units, then used an ultrasound leakage detector to collect data.

Meanwhile, US and Russian specialists have taken pressure measurements overnight to try to isolate the source of the leak.

Once this was done, the crew opened the gates again between the American and Russian parts, and resumed their normal activities.

The size of the leak has since been attributed to a temporary change in temperature on board the station, but the overall rate of the leak appears to have remained unchanged.

The International Space Station takes over the unmanned cargo ship Signas during the weekend (NASA)

Not the first time

The Executive Director of the Russian Manned Space Program, Sergey Krikaliov, confirmed that it will take some time to find the leak, but the International Space Station always suffers from a slight loss of air due to the air filtration system. Of course, if it lasts for a long time, it will require additional air supply to the station .. It is not good to have it, but it is not critical. "

Roscosmos has since released new information, saying it has isolated the site of the leak further.

According to its latest results, it is located in the transport room, and it has reiterated that "the leak does not pose any direct danger to the crew at the current leak rate, and will only lead to a slight deviation in the crew schedule."

It is not the first time that astronauts on the International Space Station have had to deal with the leak at the station.

In August 2018, Mission 56 crew members found a hole in the wall of the Russian-made Soyuz space capsule, which had been docked at the International Space Station.

Roscosmos announced in 2019 that it had located the source of the leak, but has not yet made public the information.

This shipment includes a new space toilet from the Global Waste Management System (Don Diebold-Wikipedia)

New supplies and crew

Meanwhile, the International Space Station took over the unmanned cargo ship Cygnus over the weekend, which took off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

This consignment includes a new space toilet - the Global Waste Management System (UWMS) - and a number of scientific experiments and technology demonstrations designed to develop everything from medicine to nutrition in space.

Among these experiments: the electrical oxidation experiment of ammonia that can turn it into drinking water and electricity, the experiment of growing radishes on board the International Space Station, an investigation that tests cancer treatments in microgravity, as well as a NASA 360-degree camera, and an experiment that tests how different types of Soil in microgravity.

The International Space Station crew is also waiting for the next launch of the mission's 64 astronauts, who will replace them on board the station, who are currently at the Baikonur Cosmodrome base in Kazakhstan, and are preparing to launch on Wednesday October 14th.