Two cosmonauts conducting a spacewalk got an up-close view of a mysterious blob growing outside of the International Space Station and had to make a risky move to escape it.
Oleg Kononenko and his fellow cosmonaut were originally tasked with repairing a leaking radiator in October 2023.
But as Kononenko inspected the damaged panel, he noticed that there were several holes in the radiator panel.
Though the ammonia coolant wasn’t immediately harmful, it posed a risk if it spread into the ISS.
Advert
And Kononenko, unaware of how just how dangerous the blob was, made a brave decision in order to protect his crew.
"The holes have very even edges, like they’ve been drilled through. There are lots of them. They are spread in a chaotic manner,” he told Moscow Mission control at the time.
While the crew had been equipped with a cloth towel to absorb any of the liquid that might escape from the radiator, Kononenko spotted a globule which is believed to have been formed from residual ammonia coolant.
Advert
Following mission control’s orders, Kononenko was told to immediately leave the area after finding that the blob had spread onto his safety tether.
The blob had already contaminated his tether - and Kononenko needed to act fast - forcing him to make a risky call.
For the safety of the crew aboard the ISS, the cosmonaut had to unclip himself.
But without the tether securing him, there was a real chance Kononenko could drift off into outer space.
Advert
With steady hands and nerves of steel, Kononenko freed himself from the compromised tether and carefully made his way back along to the spacewalk and into the safety of the ISS.
It was a success.
The brave move meant that the cosmonaut avoided spreading the dangerous substance inside the station and putting anyone in danger.
Advert
The tether was later placed in a secure bag to prevent any risk of spreading the ammonia and the radiator is said to have since been fixed.
However, the cause of the initial leak is still unclear.
Funnily enough, time moves slower in space which means astronauts don't actually age as fast which is maybe why 60-year-old Kononenko is still going strong today!
And elsewhere in science, NASA has provided an update on the mission to capture an asteroid worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 - that's 10 quintillion. If captured by NASA and brought back to Earth, the materials found on it could give every single human being over $1.2 billion which could transform humanity as we know it.