Not for the first time, the International Space Station has sprung a leak.
A module on the Russian side of the orbiting laboratory, called Zvezda, is leaking air through a 3ft-hole, NASA has confirmed.
Thankfully, because the module has been sealed off from the rest of the space station, there’s no danger to the seven astronauts on board.
The ageing space station, which floats in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 254 miles, is set to be decommissioned by 2030.
It follows several leaks of gas and coolant fluid from ISS in the past few years, including one from a mysterious hole allegedly made deliberately.
A module on the Russian side of the orbiting laboratory, called Zvezda, is leaking air through a three-foot-hole, NASA has confirmed. The Russian Progress 21 cargo ship is seen docked to Zvezda in the centre of this photo
The leak was revealed by ISS program manager Joel Montalbano during a live press briefing this week in Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
‘I’d say that area is about three feet or so in length,’ Montalbano said.
‘We’ve been watching this for a while; this area has had some leaks – in fact we’ve repaired a couple of cracks in that module part.’
‘We’re working with our Russian colleagues on the next step.’
He added that it is not impacting operations or the crew’s safety but is ‘something for everybody to be aware of’.
Akin to different rooms in a building, the space station’s various modules are run by five space agencies – NASA (US), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), CSA (Canada).
Because the ISS is separated into airtight modules, the one owned by Russia that has the leak, called Zvezda, can be sealed off.
‘When we close that hatch, the rest of the space station, the rest of the Russian modules, the rest of the US modules, European, Japanese – everything is solid,’ Montalbano said.
In its own statement, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos confirmed the leak and said none of the crew are in any danger.
‘Indeed, specialists have detected an air leak onboard the ISS,’ Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.
‘There is no threat to crewmembers or the station itself.’
The ISS has been under constant occupation by astronauts since November 2000 but due to structural fatigue needs to be decommissioned by 2030
The ISS is divided into two main sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the US Orbital Segment (USOS). Inset photo shows three former inhabitants on the space station
The Zvezda module is a key part of the Russian half of the station as it provides the segment with oxygen and drinkable water.
It also houses CO2 scrubbers which remove the gas exhaled from inhabitants, and has the sleeping quarters, bathroom and dining room for the Russian cosmonauts.
This is not the first time a leak has sprung from the Zvezda module, which was sent to space to dock with other ISS components back in July 2000.
NASA officials first detected air coming from the space station in September 2019 before making it public the following year.
It was only later that the leak was identified as coming from the Zvezda module, and attempts were made to patch it up – although it’s unclear if they were successful.
It’s possible this fresh leak is from the same hole; MailOnline has contacted NASA for more information.
It follows a leak of vital coolant fluid from the ISS last year, described as serious but not threatening to lives of the on-board astronauts.
Back in 2018, another hole that caused a pressure leak on the ISS was fixed by space station crew.
August 2018 saw astronauts rush to fix a hole (pictured) which had appeared in the outer wall of the Soyuz capsule on the orbiting laboratory. Its origins are still a mystery
Former Roscosmos director general Dmitry Rogozin said the hole was not from an manufacturing defect and implied it was likely made by hand.
In response, NASA said in a statement that this conclusion ‘does not necessarily mean the hole was created intentionally or with mal-intent’.
The exact cause of the breach was thought to be a botched repair job by an engineer who drilled through the side of the spacecraft.
However, some made allegations of subterfuge and deliberate sabotage.
NASA is set to launch four more astronauts to the ISS on Saturday (March 2) aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Meanwhile, another four ISS crew members who have been there since August 2023 are set to return to Earth later this month.
EXPLAINED: THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SITS 250 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000.
Crews have come mainly from the US and Russia, but the Japanese space agency JAXA and European space agency ESA have also sent astronauts.
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has been expended with multiple new modules added and upgrades to systems
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.
There is an ongoing debate about the future of the station beyond 2025, when it is thought some of the original structure will reach ‘end of life’.
Russia, a major partner in the station, plans to launch its own orbital platform around then, with Axiom Space, a private firm, planning to send its own modules for purely commercial use to the station at the same time.
NASA, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working together to build a space station in orbit around the moon, and Russia and China are working on a similar project, that would also include a base on the surface.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
