by Astronauts have described some unusual smells in space, which is not surprising considering the chemistry is very different from that on Earth. So, what does space smell like, and what are the cosmic sources of these smells?
Space is an airless vacuum, so technically, you can’t smell anything in space – if you tried, you’d be dead. But, space is not an absolute vacuum. It is full of all kinds of molecules, some of which have their own strong odors when we smell them World. A really cool way to better understand cosmic chemistry is to learn about what different parts of space would smell like.
Related: There is a ‘strange smell on the International Space Station’, says an astronaut
What do astronauts smell?
During the Apollo moon landings, would be the astronauts frequent mention of a smell like gunpowder When they had reached back into the airlock, they went under their restraints and took off their helmets. Similarly, after a spacewalk, astronauts returning to the confines of the International Space Station report the smell of gunpowder, as well as ozone and burnt steak.
So what’s going on? Where does the smell come from?
Scientists have two good theories. One is that while an astronaut is on a spacewalk, individual oxygen atoms can stick to their spaces, and when they re-enter the airlock and repressurize, molecular oxygen – O2, or two oxygen atoms – flows into the airlock and combines with the individual oxygen atoms to form ozone, or O3. This explained the pungent metallic smell.
So what about the other smells? There is probably something else going on. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), found in charred foods such as burnt toast and barbecued meat, are also regularly found in space. In fact, most interstellar carbon is locked up in PAHs. They are abundant in the Solar systemso they can be easily picked up by astronauts and brought into the space station or space capsule – and are likely the source of the smell of burning flesh reported by astronauts.
In fact, NASA treats the smell of space as more than just a curiosity. In 2008, the agency commissioned Steven Pearce – a chemist at Omega Ingredients, who specializes in fragrances and flavors – to recreate the smell of space for astronauts in training. After all, an astronaut must be able to distinguish between the smell of PAH on their space suit and a dangerous chemical leak aboard the space station.
Smell comets
So we have an idea of what the space near Earth smells like. But what about further afield?
Other parts of the universe also have unique smells — if only we could travel that far to smell them.
When the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft collided comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, it A rich variety of molecules have been found in the comet’s comet, the gaseous halo surrounding the solid nucleus of the comet. Among these molecules were hydrogen sulphide, which gives rotten eggs their unpleasant stench; ammonia, which is reminiscent of the repulsive smell of urine; hydrogen cyanide, which has a more attractive almond smell despite its famous toxic nature; sweet-smelling carbon disulfide; and the pickled aroma of formaldehyde.
You would probably turn your nose up at this combination of smells. But if there was any smell, it would probably be quite faint, as the vast majority of comets are water vapor and carbon dioxide.
The gasoline moon
One place that has an atmosphere to hold a smell Saturnthe biggest moon, Titan. The atmosphere doesn’t really help us smell at all, though. There’s no oxygen, and it’s cold – minus 292 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 179.6 degrees Celsius) — so taking off our spacesuit helmet and breathing deeply isn’t really an option. If we could, however, we would see that Titan has gasoline.
Perhaps we should not be surprised. After all, gasoline, or petrol, is made from crude oil that is rich in hydrocarbons, which are molecules made of hydrogen and carbon atoms, such as methane and ethane. The atmosphere is Titan dense hydrocarbon smog, and on the surface of the moon, liquid hydrocarbons form oily lakes and rivers. But methane, which is the dominant hydrocarbon on Titan, doesn’t smell like anything. So what creates the stench of the moon?
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft identified an unknown chemical in Titan’s hazy atmosphere to NASA laboratory experiments. on Earth was determined a molecule containing nitrogen, methane and benzene and belonging to a family of molecules known as polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs). In particular, it is the benzene in the PANHs that gives Titan its petroleum stench, since benzene is also found naturally in gasoline.
A cloud of boozy gas
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So the solar system is a wonderful place, but what about the rest of the universe?
Sagittarius B2, a massive interstellar molecular cloud of gas and dust forming a star less than 400 light-years from the center of the The Milky Way, all kinds of aromatic chemistry are going on. For one thing, there is a lot of alcoholincluding vinyl alcohol, methanol and ethanol, the type of alcohol in beer.
In 2009, astronomers too the ethyl formate of the molecule was discovered in Sagittarius B2. Ethyl formate is the chemical that gives them their sweet raspberry and rum fragrance, so even if the center of our galaxy smells like a brewery, at least it will be pleasant.
