Astronauts' testimonies prove that space has a strange smell. Its nature and source are still difficult to identify, but does space really smell?
The French newspaper "Le Point" says that the scientists who had the opportunity to visit space confirmed that they smelled a distinctive smell, according to what was reported by the French channel "France Info".
Although they did not take off their space suits while wandering outside the vehicle for security reasons, some confirmed smells sticking to their clothes during their tours of the vast space.
But what does this smell look like?
NASA, in cooperation with a chemist, launched a study on this forgotten topic (Shutterstock)
A distinctive smell that differs in its appearance from the noses
NASA, in cooperation with a chemist, launched a study on this forgotten topic, and was able to collect some important testimonies.
"The smell of space is really different from anything else," said astronaut Dominique Antonelli, while NASA veteran Thomas Jones described the smell of space as "burning gunpowder."
According to American researcher Luis Alamondola, who published his thesis on the official NASA website, this smell in particular may be caused by the end of the life cycle of some stars, which results in the release of gases such as carbon and nitrogen.
This can result in a "burnt hamburger" smell.
The heavy composition of the Milky Way's "molecular clouds" dust, Alamondola adds, emits "a smell similar to an exotic ice cream flavor with a suffocating whiff of ammonia."
The birth of a star may lead to a chemical reaction that produces ethyl formate, which makes the raspberry flavor, and according to chemical analyst in astronomy, Robin Isnard, "these smells are formed when a group of molecules mix."