The International Space Station is currently manned by Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Wagner, as well as American astronauts Christopher Cassidy, Douglas Hurley, and Robert Behnken.
An increased level of toxic benzene inside the International Space Station (ISS) could be caused by the air filters installed in one of the American modules on board the space outpost, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Benzene is a natural part of crude oil, gasoline, and cigarette smoke; it is used to make other chemicals for producing plastics, resins, nylon, and synthetic fibres.
The International Space Station photographed from a Soyuz spacecraft
In a report on Tuesday, NASA said that “charcoal only filters” would be installed in the Node 1 module, in order “to reduce the benzene level in the [ISS] atmosphere”.
NASA also said that the installation comes after the ISS crew “ingressed” the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) so as “to retrieve charcoal filters stowed within the module”.
After the subsequent increase in the benzene level in the ISS’s atmosphere, a device for assessing air quality was installed in the Zvezda module located in the ISS’s Russian segment which is currently manned by cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Wagner. Also on board the space outpost are their US colleagues Christopher Cassidy, Douglas Hurley, and Robert Behnken.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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