Thanks to a small but persistent one, three space explorers flying over the earth on the International Space Station have a little riddle in their hands Air leak. NASA is in search mode to find the source.
While an air leak in space sounds worrying, NASA doesn't fret about it. "The leak is still within segment specifications and does not pose an immediate threat to the crew or the space station," NASA said in a statement Thursday.
A bit of air leakage is normal, and that particular leak has been on the radar for a while. "In September 2019, NASA and its international partners first saw signs of a slight increase above the standard cabin air leak rate," the agency said. A further increase in this rate has triggered new measures to track down the source so that it can possibly be repaired.
The current crew consists of Chris Cassidy from NASA and the Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin from Roscosmos. All three spend Friday through Monday morning together in the Zvezda service module, a Russian segment of the ISS.
The bunking at Zvezda will allow the crew to close the station's hatches so NASA can monitor the air pressure in each section. "The test is not a safety concern for the crew," said NASA and should help the heads of mission to find out where the small leak is coming from.
First results are expected next week.
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