Cosmonauts on ISS wake up to smell of smoke & burning plastic as fire alarm goes off on aging Russian ‘Zvezda’ module

Cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS) were woken up on Wednesday after a fire alarm went off in the Russian Zvezda module, with officers reporting the smell of smoke and burnt plastic, it was revealed on Thursday.

According to crew communications with the Mission Control Center (MCC), broadcast by NASA, instruments showed the presence of harmful substances in the area of the medical cabinet. According to Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, the crew could both see and smell smoke.

Following the recommendations of the MCC, cosmonauts Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov opened the panels in the module in the area where the smoke was detected and inspected the space. The exact source of the smell has not yet been confirmed, but there are no plans to evacuate Zvezda or cancel any spacewalks.

“In order to eliminate possible smoke, the crew switched on the atmospheric cleaning aggregate filter, an onboard air-cleaning tool. After cleaning the atmosphere, the ISS-65 expedition crew continued the night rest mode,” said Roscosmos, Russia’s Space Agency.

Zvezda, a module sent up to space in 2000, provides living quarters for two crew members. The segment has seen a litany of problems in recent times, including several cracks.

With Russia’s obligations to participate in the ISS program coming to an end in 2025, there has long been speculation about the future of the planet’s only inhabited satellite, especially considering the numerous recent issues. Now, it seems likely that Moscow will withdraw and will instead launch its own satellite, called ROSS. President Vladimir Putin signed off on plans for its construction earlier this year and, once complete, it will consist of three to seven modules and will be able to carry up to four people.

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