Outer space smells like gun powder...would you want the experience?

are you confusing outerspace with tropical beaches? easy to do i suppose

I ALWAYS do that! Thanks for setting me straight, I needed it! It's a good thing I don't work for NASA yes?

maybe not. astronauts might have a far easier time of it.

Calvin Klein haven't brought out any new gunpowder themed fragrances have they? "Musket - by CK"

More bang for your buck? Wear CK's Musket and you'll have women rifling through your pants in no time!

it's a winner. the puns sorry possibilities are endless with it.

Good morning, Wolfie. Yup, fear of heights would be a detriment to wishing to travel into outer space! I also have imagined that there are probably life forms other than we human beings here on earth. Although it would be scary meeting an alien (the unknown and such), it would be interesting to learn about one. Never mind digressions lol. For me, that is a normal part of most discussions...one thing leading to another. Enjoy the day! Karen

Thanks, Lamb and Peaceful, for those links. I see now what people mean by 'the smell of space' and, now I see it described, I know just what it smells like. I'm also fairly sure what causes it. As you probably know from elementary science classes at school, if you have a flask of water and reduce the pressure in it to a near vacuum, the water will boil at room temperature. The state of 'boiling' is really nothing more than the ability for molecules to break free of the substance they belong to and become gas, and this happens at different temperatures for different substances depending on the atmospheric pressure. In space, there is negligible atmospheric pressure, so anything (and everything) under those conditions will lose some molecules. Not everything will 'boil', of course, as a liquid will and solids (such as metal and fabric) will not necessarily liquefy and boil in the conventional sense but they will still lose some molecules from the surface. In fact, this happens to a small extent - and for slightly different reasons - even at normal temperature and pressure (that is, in air) and that is why some things (even metals) have a characteristic smell. My guess is that, when an astronaut enters the air lock, the space suit (and the inside of the airlock) will be losing molecules to the 'atmosphere' in this way and when the airlock is repressurised, not all of these free molecules will immediately return to the substance that gave them off (just as water vapour won't immediately return to the water once the pressure is restored). So the smell is actually the true smell of the aluminium, fabric, plastic, rubber or whatever from the free molecules which are still floating around close to the suit in the newly restored atmosphere. As, perhaps, you know, the molecular gas oxygen is composed of TWO atoms of oxygen bonded in pairs (that's why its chemical symbol is O2), whereas ozone is a gas composed of single free oxygen atoms (and its symbol is simply O). A molecule of oxygen can be split into two molecules of ozone by the action of ultraviolet light and this happens mostly very high in the Earth's atmosphere but also, to a lesser extent, closer to the surface wherever ultraviolet radiation (from the sun) is high and it is one of the things that contributes to the 'smell of the sea' and also to the 'smell' of a storm (electrical discharge, such as lightning, can also break down oxygen into ozone). We 'smell' it because those lonely atoms are constantly looking for a partner to bond with and, when they enter our nose, some of them bond with molecules in the nerve endings responsible for our sense of smell and cause a characteristic sensation, which we call the 'smell of ozone'. My hypothesis, therefore, is that a combination of zero pressure and strong ultraviolet radiation in space causes everything that goes into that environment to lose molecules (by 'boiling') and free atoms (by ionization due to ultraviolet and other radiation) and that the remnants of these gases still clinging to the space suits is what people call 'the smell of space'.

Hm, that is an interesting fact. I wonder if it was something he was smelling from the ship? Or his suit? Strange. But I'd definitely go! Karen

Hello Owl and Lamb...below is the address to NASA and the govts. official site that should explain about the "smell." http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp6/spacechronicles4.html

Hi LovingLife. I do imagine that the experience would be life-altering for anyone! Like you, the sky and outer space has always fascinated me. It looks quite near at times, the moon for instance, and yet is so very far away. How wonderful it would be to see the other planets up close or to walk on the moon, and view earth from there. I imagine that sometime in the future, ordinary people traveling to outer space will become an affordable reality. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm! Karen

Here you go...it is from NASA and govts. official site. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp6/spacechronicles4.html Expedition Six Space Chronicles #4 By: ISS Science Officer Don Pettit The Smell of Space Few people have experienced traveling into space. Even fewer have experienced the smell of space. Now this sounds strange, that a vacuum could have a smell and that a human being could live to smell that smell. It seems about as improbable as listening to sounds in space, yet space has a definite smell. Being creatures of an atmosphere, we can only smell space indirectly. Sort of like the way a pit viper smells by waving its tongue in the air and thenpressing it to the roof of its mouth where sensors process the molecules that have been adsorbed onto the waggling appendage. I had the pleasure of operating the airlock for two of my crewmates while they went on several space walks. Each time, when I repressed the airlock, opened the hatch and welcomed two tired workers inside, a peculiar odor tickled my olfactory senses. At first I couldn't quite place it. It must have come from the air ducts that re-pressed the compartment. Then I noticed that this smell was on their suit, helmet, gloves, and tools. It was more pronounced on fabrics than on metal or plastic surfaces. It is hard to describe this smell; it is definitely not the olfactory equivalent to describing the palette sensations of some new food as "tastes like chicken." The best description I can come up with is metallic; a rather pleasant sweet metallic sensation. It reminded me of my college summers where I labored for many hours with an arc welding torch repairing heavy equipment for a small logging outfit. It reminded me of pleasant sweet smelling welding fumes. That is the smell of space.

NOPE, NOT GOING,LOL. U GO & THEN TELL ME ABOUT IT. I'm glad u like TENNESSEE i do to.

LOL, I can do that! And yes, TN is so very beautiful. I love the Smokies!

Aww, c'mon Jo. We'll just make it a very short visit...do some sight seeing, and be back in time for dinner lol. Those ships do travel oh so fast. By the way, TN is very beautiful! I've been there a number of times. Hugs, Karen

Hi Hotsummer. I think, like you, that whatever each of us feels or wants to experience (or not) is just fine. We're all put together with our own unique wishes and thoughts. Thank you for sharing yours, and have a fine day. Karen

Hello Iriene. Luxury would definitely add something of comfort to the experience, and I suspect that is a long time off. But it would be nice just to experience something which the average person doesn't truly know all that much about. Thamk you for commenting. Karen

Hi Kitty. A fear of flying would likely make travel by rocket not in the picture, but yes, one can go many places simply in the imagination. If I ever get a chance to go, I'll take pictures for you Have a beautiful day. Karen

Hello my friend That sound like a plan to me, I wish you all the best lol

Hi Cherrc. That is me...I love exploring and trying new things. So yes, go space! Thank you for responding and have a wonderful day. Karen

Hello Audra. I ask myself those same questions each a time a rocket is launched for another journey into space. It would certainly be a novel experience. I would be up for it! Thank you for your input. Karen

Hello Mimpi. Yes, I think it would be worth such a novel experience, even if one returned smelling like a lit match lol. I hope your day goes well. Karen

Hi Elmiko. Hm, now I've burned a few cookies, so that is a smell I would recognize lol. Thank you for responding to the discussion, and have a wonderful day. Karen

Hi Prinzcy. I don't know how the smell reaches an astronaut, but many of them comment on it. Interesting questions and theories you've brought up. I love trying new things, exploring whatever my eyes can see, only up close, hence for me, going into space would be wonderful! I do know though that you're not alone in wanting to keep your feet firmly planted on the earth. I hope you have a nice day, and appreciate your response! Karen

Hi Pablo. What if you go for one day, and then absolutely love it? You might want to stay a long time, then. It would be a great thing to come back and describe to everyone. And imagine the pictures you could take :D Thank you for responding and have a nice day. Karen