Astronaut was told to flee ISS immediately after finding blob growing outside it
- A Russian astronaut had to make a quick exit from a space mission
- The pair were working outside ISS on a spacewalk
- That was when they saw a mysterious and seemingly dangerous blob
Published on Aug 21, 2024 at 7:28 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Aug 22, 2024 at 7:04 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A Russian astronaut and his colleague venturing outside the International Space Station (ISS) on a spacewalk had a seemingly narrow escape being told to flee after finding a ‘blob’ in space.
No, it wasn’t extraterrestrial ectoplasm, but coolant leaking from a radiator.
However, that apparent normalcy didn’t render the out-of-this-world experience any less perilous for the cosmonauts.
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The ISS blob
Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub were ordered to leave the area immediately when the incident occurred on October 25, 2023.
Kononenko’s tether became contaminated after the astronaut duo got close to a coolant leak.
As a result, the tether was bagged and left outside ISS when the spacewalk ended.
The leak had first been observed emanating from an external radiator earlier that month.
The plan had been to isolate and photograph the radiator, which serves as a backup to a main body radiator that regulates the temperature inside Russia’s Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.
Kononenko and Chub configured several valves, isolating the external radiator from its ammonia supply.
Kononenko said he had seen small holes on the surface of the radiator before noticing the blob.
“The holes have very even edges, like they’ve been drilled through,” Kononenko radioed to the flight controllers working in Moscow Mission Control.
“There are lots of them. They are spread in a chaotic manner.”
The blob was said to have been formed by pooling residual coolant that the astronaut disturbed as he closed the valves.
The cosmonauts had brought tissues and cloths to wipe down their spacesuits and tools in an attempt not to bring the substance back aboard ISS.
Russian engineers will use the data collected to further the cause of the leak and hopefully return the radiator to working order.
Other astronaut news
In other news from the Great Beyond, an astronaut aiming to walk on Mars has revealed the biggest challenge.
The good news is that astronauts age slower while they’re in space – which explains why 60-year-old Kononenko is still going strong.
However, this NASA astronaut recently revealed that being in space made him realize we are ‘living a lie’.
London-based Amelia cut her journalistic teeth covering all things lifestyle, wellness and luxury in the UK capital. Fast-forward a decade and the experienced content creator and editor has put pen to paper for glossy magazines, busy newsrooms and coveted brands. When her OOO is on you can find her spending quality time with her young family, in the gym or exploring the city she loves.
