MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) is once again using tea leaves to find an air leak in three possible locations in the Russian Zvezda module, according to a communication of the crew with Earth, broadcast by NASA.
A specialist from the Russian Mission Control Center told cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov that thin strips of paper that were released in the module’s access section earlier gathered in three possible leakage sites. They then asked the cosmonaut to use tea leaves to find out if there is a leak in those locations.
The tea leaves were suspended in microgravity and examined closely by the crew. The tea leaves were reportedly slowly approaching a small crack in the hull of the module, which was located on an ISS wall. The air was leaking through this very crack.
A small air leak was first detected at the ISS in September 2019. Russian cosmonauts have since identified two cracks in the access section to the Zvezda module and sealed them both in March 2021, using methods such as releasing tea leaves to help with their search. According to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, the air leak poses no threat to the ISS crew.
In addition to Ryzhikov and his fellow cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, American astronauts Kathleen Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, as well as Japanese Soichi Noguchi are currently on the ISS.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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