All clear on the ISS! Astronauts are allowed to leave shelter

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) had to temporarily take refuge in their spacecraft and prepare for a possible evacuation. The reason: a leak in the Russian part of the ISS. After repair work, they were able to return to the ISS.

While the astronauts sheltered in their spacecraft and prepared for a possible evacuation, a Russian crew member attempted to repair the air leak. That reported Sky News.

Cracks “always a cause for concern”

Bethany Stevens, a NASA spokeswoman, stated that the air leak occurred in the Zvezda service module transfer tunnel: “The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has been suffering from cracks and leaks for some time, which have been mitigated to the greatest extent possible by Roscosmos to date.” Stevens said the cracks “have always been a concern” that NASA has been closely monitoring.

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Have had to deal with leaks several times

According to the operator SpaceX, up to seven people can fit in the “Dragon” spacecraft. Astronauts have been living and researching on board the ISS for around 25 years. The crews of the ISS have had to struggle with leaks on several occasions – including in the Zvezda module. In addition, the space station has already been cleared several times due to possible collisions with space debris. The leak discovered on May 1st allows around 500 grams of air to escape into space every day – that’s roughly the weight of a loaf of bread, writes the British medium “Daily Mail“.

A little later, however, another post from the Nasa spokeswoman said that Roskosmos had paused the repairs and that further measurements would be carried out and data collected. The astronauts were therefore instructed to return to the space station. A statement from Roscosmos said: “The safety of the crew and on-board systems is not at risk, the pressure on board the ISS is stable and maintained at the intended level.”

The ISS is a permanently inhabited research laboratory that orbits the Earth at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers. It is a joint project of 16 countries, including the USA, Russia and European countries. It is used for scientific and industrial research under weightlessness. The ISS is bigger than a football field.