Strong and metallic – for NASA engineer and astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, who is on board US space shuttle Discovery, that is what the final frontier smells like. ”
There is one smell up here that is really unique though and that is the smell, we just call it ‘the smell of space’. “I haven’t had a chance to do a spacewalk yet … but when the other guys did and they came back in … there’s this really, really strong metallic smell. “It’s really cool.”
For rookie astronaut Kevin Ford, Discovery’s pilot, both the sounds and smells of space have surprised him. “It’s like … something I haven’t ever smelled before, but I’ll never forget it,” Space.com reported him saying.
“You know how those things stick with you.”
Read full piece at http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/smell-of-space-strong-metallic-and-unique-nasa-astronauts-say-20090907-fddm.html
