What does outer space smell like?

Though a pure, unadulterated whiff of outer space is impossible for humans (it's a vacuum after all; we would die if we tried), when astronauts are outside the ISS, space-borne compounds adhere to their suits and hitch a ride back into the station. read more

Space is full of smells, but mostly the burning odor of hydrocarbons. NASA/Scott Kleinman/Getty Images The final frontier smells a lot like a Nascar race—a bouquet of hot metal, diesel fumes and barbecue. read more

Space, Jones elaborated, smells a little like gunpowder. It is"sulfurous." Add to all those anecdotal assessments the recent discovery, in a vast dust cloud at the center of our galaxy, of ethyl formate-- and the fact that the ester is, among other things, the chemical responsible for the flavor of raspberries. read more

An odor that is distinct and weird: something, astronauts have described it, like"seared steak." And also:"hot metal." And also:"welding fumes." (What Space Smells Like ). “Space,” three-time spacewalker Thomas Jones has put it, “carries a distinct odor of ozone”, a faint acrid smell. read more