Posted: Mon, Feb 25, 2002, 7:41 AM ET (1241 GMT)
A strong odor that filled the US portions of the International Space Station after a Wednesday spacewalk have been removed, NASA reported. The Expedition Four crew reported a strong, musty odor emanating from the Quest airlock after Carl Walz and Daniel Bursch performed a spacewalk using Quest on Wednesday. As a precaution the crew closed the interior hatch of Quest and retreated to the Russian segment of the station. Engineers believe the odor came from a system that bakes metal oxide canisters to remove carbon dioxide from them; mildew may have built up in the system during months of inactivity. The odor was largely removed by Friday and the station crew returned to normal activity by then.

Related Links:

•  ISS status report #02-12
•  SPACE.com article