NASA-Created Perfume Lets You Smell Outer Space, In Case You Want To Try
The smell of outer space is full of gunpowder-like, if you were wondering
You might have spent hefty amounts on exotic fragrances from around the world. None, however, can claim to be as exotic as a new fragrance called Eau de Space.
The reason - it is the aroma of outer space, made in collaboration with NASA.
An ESA astronaut on a space walk outside the ISS (Image: NASA)
Steve Pearce, a chemist and the founder of Omega Ingredients - the company responsible for Eau de Space, developed the out-of-this-world fragrance in four long years. The attempt began as the US space agency NASA contracted Pearce to recreate the smell of outer space in 2008.
The fragrance was not originally developed as a commercial product to be sold freely in the market right away. The core purpose of Eau de Space was to help astronauts train and get accustomed to the smell in space before launching in orbit.
With this, NASA wished to eliminate any surprises that the astronauts might experience in space. Now that the fragrance is being used for this purpose, the company wants to take it to the masses through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.
Smell of outer space
Eau De Space (Image: Kickstarter)
In a 2002 interview with CNN, American astronaut Peggy Whitson described the smell of space as ¡°kind of like a smell from a gun, right after you fire the shot." "I think it kind of has almost a bitter kind of smell in addition to being smoky and burned," added Whitson.
Eau de Space product manager Matt Richmond has trouble describing this fragrance. He tries to do this, saying "Astronauts describe the smell as a mix of gunpowder, seared steak, raspberries and rum."
Purpose of the fragrance
With Eau de Space, Omega Ingredients is trying to garner interest in STEM learning for K-12 students, asn initiative to offer audio-visual experiences in educating the students. Richmond called it "experiential education" and hopes that Eau de Space will spark interest of the students, with parents, teachers and scientists building it further.
Going forward, the company is looking to replicate the smell of the moon, in a fragrance called ¡°Smell of the Moon.¡± Would you be interested in trying it out at your home? Let us know in the comment section below.
