If you thought your city smelled bad, you should count yourself lucky it doesn't smell like space. Let astronauts tell it, the final frontier smells like seared steak, hot metal, and welding fumes. NASA is currently in the process of recreating those smells from training purposes, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
In 2003, astronaut Don Pettit said that the smell of space was "metallic; a rather pleasant sweet metallic sensation." He also said that it reminded him of "pleasant sweet smelling welding fumes." Steven Pearce, a chemist hired by NASA to recreate the odors, says the metallic property of the smells are likely from "high-energy vibrations of ions."
[via CSM]
