And it's not a fantasy - space smells the same for all of us.

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When we arrived at the ISS and docked, the guys from the station were still inspecting the hatches. When we had finished the job on our side and had opened the hatch, and I immediately sensed the smell.

And Jeff [Williams] said to me at once: "This is the smell of the space!" It lasted for several minutes though.

You can't explain this in a word. Remember when as a boy you would take two granite stones and strike them against each other? This is the smell of space. Am I right, Roma? You see, he has the same associations.

I think it's something from the remaining fuel evaporation, from the engines.

Well, I don't know if remote space smells, but around the station it certainly does!

Via Russian space agency Roscosmos