Space really stinks

Davey Winder
Saturday, 18 October 2008 19:08

Science - Space

Steve Pearce is one of the leading UK experts on smell. Which is probably why NASA asked him to recreate the smell of outer space. You might be surprised at the results so far...

Omega Ingredients, the company which Steve Pearce runs, usually produces fragrances that can make your food, or even your car, smell better. Sometimes he goes a little left-field such as in recreating the smell of Ancient Egypt through the medium of Queen Cleopatra's hair.

So when NASA approached the company which is based in a small English village to bottle the smell of space, Steve was up for it.

"What they want is for me to make the smell of space, so they can make their training exercises with astronauts more realistic" he said at the time.

Although the final product is not expected to be ready until the end of the year, some clues have started to emerge as to just what space will smell like. Be warned, it is probably nothing like you were thinking.

Unless you are biker who happens to be handy with the spot welder and likes to nosh down on a fried steak at the same time. In which case you will be pleasantly surprised at just how familiar it all is.

Yes, reports suggest that outer space stinks, and then some. It's probably got something to do with all those worms up there!

But seriously though, working from the accounts of varied astronauts, Mr Pearce is aiming to produce a smell that resembles hot metal, hot fried steaks and someone welding a motorbike.

According to ISS Science Officer Don Pettit the best description is "a rather pleasant sweet metallic sensation. It reminded me of my college summers where I labored for many hours with an arc welding torch repairing heavy equipment for a small logging outfit. It reminded me of pleasant sweet smelling welding fumes. That is the smell of space."

Apparently the fried steak aroma was pretty easy to recreate, but Pearce is having more trouble with the whiff of hot metal. "We think it's a high energy vibration in the molecule and that's what we're trying to add to it now' Pearce said during a visit to a school during the Manchester Science Festival.