the smell of space?

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Here's a funny little article I saw on ITN on the creation of a

perfume that will try to capture the smell of outer space. What's next?

Ever wondered what space smells like? Well, a British chemist knows

and he's now recreating the odour in a laboratory.

What does outer space smell like?

For those of you who can't wait until the end of the year when his

" perfume " will be ready, think hot metal and fried steak.

Pearce, a chemist and managing director of a fragrance

manufacturing company, has been asked by Nasa to recreate the smell in

a laboratory.

The boffins think it will help astronauts acclimatise themselves on

space missions.

Mr Pearce said: " We have a few clues as to what space smells like.

First of all, there were interviews with astronauts that we were

given, when they had been outside and then returned to the space

station and were de-suiting and taking off their helmets, they all

reported quite particular odours.

" For them, what comes across is a smell of fried steak, hot metal and

even welding a motorbike, one of them said. "

He added: " We have already produced the smell of fried steak, but hot

metal is proving more difficult. We think it's a high energy vibration

in the molecule and that's what we're trying to add to it now. "

Mr Pearce has been visiting Moorside High School in Manchester to

discuss the project, as part of the Manchester Science Festival.