Space smells funny: Discovery crew

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Space smells funny: Discovery crew

WASHINGTON: The space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven have safely returned to Earth. But the one thing pilots can't get out their noses is space's "weird" smell. 

"One thing I've heard people say before, but it wasn't so obvious, was the smell right when you open up that hatch," Live Science quoted Discovery pilot Dominic Antonelli, as saying after a March 21 spacewalk. 

"Space definitely has a smell that's different than anything else," Antonelli added. 

Koichi Wakata, part of Discovery crew claimed he too could smell the odd odor that wafted in from outside ISS. 
According to ex-NASA astronaut Thomas Jones, a veteran of three spacewalks, the odor could stem from atomic oxygen that clings to spacesuit fabric. Jones added the smell is similar to burnt gunpowder.

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