2024-09-30 17:50:06
In a report, NASA expresses concern over the worsening oxygen leak in the Russian segment of the space lab.
Rating the risk as “five out of five”, the agency has issued recommendations to ensure the safety of the crew on board.
Houston, we have a problem! NASA and the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) are trying to fix an oxygen leak aboard the International Space Station (ISS). However, it continues to worsen, to the point where the NASA Office of Inspector General mentions in a recent report “a major safety risk” for the space lab and its occupants. This leak, the cause of which has not yet been identified, has already been the subject of public discussions.
Roscosmos acknowledged last February that it had detected microscopic cracks in the Zvezda module, located in the Russian segment of the space station. However, it indicated that the leaks posed no risk to the crew’s safety. Nevertheless, the recently published report indicates that in April 2024, NASA identified an “increase in the leak rate to its highest level to date“.
NASA does not hide its concern
Since this alert, the Russian space agency has limited operations in the area as much as possible and has kept the hatch between the service module and the docking port, where the leaks are located, closed to minimize risks. This solution has not reassured NASA officials, whose report (new window) now rates the leak risk “five out of five“, the highest level of its risk management policy on board the laboratory orbiting Earth.
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If no solution is found to stop these leaks, NASA and Roscosmos may consider permanently closing the hatch of the affected tunnel, which would prevent astronauts from using one of the four docking ports in the Russian part of the ISS. The NASA Inspector General’s report recommends a review of the orbital debris tracking tools to “ensure crew safety” and the development of “emergency plans” in case air leaks worsen.