Space smells like a burned cookie

The returning space tourist according to a news reader on this mornings
news states that "space smells like a burned cookie" An interesting
tidbit for those of us into the minutae of what it must be likei
.................Doc

On 29 Sep 2006 05:23:50 -0700, wrote:

The returning space tourist according to a news reader on this mornings
news states that "space smells like a burned cookie"

....So, does that mean they put her to work in the kitchen while she
was up there, then? :-)

OM
--
]=====================================[
] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [
] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [
] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [
]=====================================[

wrote:

The returning space tourist according to a news reader on this mornings
news states that "space smells like a burned cookie" An interesting
tidbit for those of us into the minutae of what it must be likei
................Doc



I wonder if some of that was the after-effects of the CO2 scrubber
problem that occurred just before she got there.
At least it's better than Mir, which was supposed to smell like a moldy
locker room.

Pat

Pat Flannery wrote:
wrote:

The returning space tourist according to a news reader on this mornings
news states that "space smells like a burned cookie" An interesting
tidbit for those of us into the minutae of what it must be likei
................Doc



I wonder if some of that was the after-effects of the CO2 scrubber
problem that occurred just before she got there.
At least it's better than Mir, which was supposed to smell like a moldy
locker room.

Pat

The Apollo lunar landing crews mentioned that the moon dust smells like
burnt gunpowder.

Have long duration space travelers mentioned what the earth smells like
to them when they first return?

Rusty

wrote in message
oups.com...
The returning space tourist according to a news reader on this mornings
news states that "space smells like a burned cookie" An interesting
tidbit for those of us into the minutae of what it must be likei
................Doc


From 'Pioneering Space' (1986),
chapter One



SPACEFARER'S

DIARY







When is the exact moment one crosses the threshold between Earth and space?
Perhaps it is when one first perceives the huge bending of the horizon, the
first glimpse of the Earth's curvature. Or perhaps it is when one lets go of
a pencil and it floats, as American astronaut William Lenoir and Russian
cosmonaut Valeriy Ryumin did. The first perception of crossing over is
whenever the mind perceives the departure from the familiar. "There was
convincing evidence of weightlessness as soon as I released the flight plan
or a pencil," Ryumin noted in his inflight diary. For the first time, the
mind verifies the bizarre, alien, unearthliness of space, and says, "Yes,
this is it. I am here, in outer space."





Once the cosmonauts had docked their spacecraft to the station, they
prepared to go over into it. The transfer tunnel was filled with air, and
one of them entered it to unlatch the station's front hatch, which had spent
the previous several months exposed to airless space and searing sunlight.
Later he recalled a momentary impression: "In the docking unit we sensed the
odor of burnt steel -- the odor of space."

"Rusty" wrote
Have long duration space travelers mentioned what the earth smells like
to them when they first return?

Yes, they smell the grass -- also this, from 'Pioneering Space' (1986):

When Lyakhov and Ryumin blasted off, the sky was a sullen gray. A heavy snow
had fallen only the day before. "I looked around at the snowy, gloomy wintry
sky. I wanted to absorb everything, to remember it, to preserve it for the
entire flight," said Ryumin.



After landing, the men were mildly surprised to see Earth in the ripeness of
oncoming autumn, almost harvest time, as if they had unconsciously expected
the Earth to remain true, like an old lover, to their last precious vision
of it. Even though from space they could plainly see the changes of the
seasons, the changes were a reality apart, a reality they could not share in
until they returned. They knew they were back when, as Ryumin said, "I
sensed Earth's gravity sitting heavily on my shoulders." Someone placed
simple daisies in their arms. "How pleasant it was to hold them," said
Ryumin, "to breathe in their fragrance.

Rusty wrote:

Have long duration space travelers mentioned what the earth smells like
to them when they first return?



IIRC, weightlessness is supposed to screw up both your sense of smell
and taste.

Pat

Jim Oberg wrote:

"In the docking unit we sensed the
odor of burnt steel -- the odor of space."



The Soviets made steel cookies?! =-O

Pat

Pat Flannery wrote:

I wonder if some of that was the after-effects of the CO2 scrubber
problem that occurred just before she got there.

No, the smell reported was in the vestibule between the Soyuz and
station, which is exposed to space before docking. The "burnt" smell
that areas exposed to vacuum acquire has been noted by many space
fliers
(and was pointed out to Ansari as "the smell of space" by the more
experienced crew)

quoting from http://spaceblog.xprize.org/2006/09/22/

The time went by really slowly, but finally the moment arrived and they
were ready to open the hatch. Mike and Misha called me closer and told
me to take a good whiff because this would be the first time I would
smell "SPACE."

They said it is a very unique smell. As they pulled the hatch open on
the Soyuz side, I smelled "SPACE." It was strange... kind of like
burned almond cookie. I said to them, "It smells like cooking" and
they both looked at me like I was crazy and exclaimed:"Cooking!"

I said, "Yes... sort of like something is burning... I don't know
it is hard to explain..."

On or about Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:20:29 -0500, Pat Flannery made the sensational claim that:
Jim Oberg wrote:

"In the docking unit we sensed the
odor of burnt steel -- the odor of space."

The Soviets made steel cookies?! =-O

The Soviets made steel *everything*.
--
This is a siggy | To E-mail, do note | Just because something
It's properly formatted | who you mean to reply-to | is possible, doesn't
No person, none, care | and it will reach me | mean it can happen