Icon: enlarge
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy
on a field assignment at the International Space Station in July (archive photo)
Photo: Nasa / Nasa / imago images / ZUMA Wire
In the Russian part of the International Space Station, cosmonauts are struggling with air supply problems due to a leak.
The space travelers would now have to find the leak because the oxygen reserves were getting smaller and smaller, the state agency Tass reported after switching between the ISS and the control center in Moscow.
It is not clear where exactly the leak is in a transition to the module "Zvezda" (Russian for star), said an expert on Earth.
The problem with air leakage and pressure drop in the module has existed since August.
Time is running out, the problem must be solved, it said at the flight control center.
The cosmonaut Sergei Ryschkow on the ISS said that the air is in fact escaping from a transition to the "Zvezda" module.
It is still unclear where exactly.
The discussion is now about hermetically sealing off the affected part of the space station so as not to endanger the air supply.
However, this will affect the work on the ISS, it said.
As early as October, the crew believed they had found the crack in a transition part of the Zvezda module.
The space travelers had used a tea bag for this, which moved in weightlessness towards the leak.
The opening, about 4.5 centimeters long, was plugged.
The cause of the leak was unclear.
Later it turned out that more air was escaping.
Even an outdoor mission in space did not bring more clarity in November.
Russia's space agency Roscosmos had always emphasized that there was no imminent threat to the crew of the ISS.
There are always breakdowns on the space station.
Recently there had also been problems with the power supply and the toilet system.
There are currently seven astronauts at the station around 400 kilometers above the earth - two Russians, four Americans and one Japanese.
The ISS has been in space for more than 20 years, it is often referred to as the outpost of humanity.
Actually, space travelers should only leave for the ISS until 2024, but there are plans to operate the space station for another six years, so until 2030. "It is functional and will continue to function for ten years without major objections," said Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the agency, in February this year.
Icon: The mirror
oka / dpa
