Decades ago, NASA designed a fragrance to train astronauts on how Outer Space actually smells. Now they’re releasing it to the world.
Over a decade ago, NASA chemists developed a scent that mimics the ‘smell of space’ in order to give astronauts a whiff of the cosmos before they left Earth’s atmosphere. Now, the company Eau de Space has gotten its hands on that scent, and you can order a bottle (or ten) through its Kickstarter.
Space astronaut Tony Antonelli has said, “definitely has a smell that’s different than anything else”. Space, three-time spacewalker Thomas Jones has put it, “carries a distinct odor of ozone, a faint acrid smell”. Space, Jones elaborated, smells a little like gunpowder. It is ‘sulfurous’.
NASA has reportedly been working on the scent for over a decade, but it was trapped behind red tape and bureaucracy. The Eau de Space team got its hands on the recipe — thanks to ‘determination, grit, a lot of luck, and a couple of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests’. So this is the first time the general public will have a chance to experience the smell.
As the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign organized by Matt Richmond, the scent of space is being converted into a perfume, Eau de Space. Expert perfumers helped create this fragrance to ensure that it accurately replicates the real deal. Chemist Steve Pearce – the same person NASA sought out in 2008 to develop the original scent – was recruited to make the perfume. Pearce is a chemist and the founder of Omega Ingredients, a company focused on the “creation of the highest quality, provenance driven, natural flavours and ingredients for the food and beverage industry,”
This smell has been off-limits to everyone but astronauts for years, but through sheer determination, grit, a lot of luck, and a couple of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, we got it out
Matt Richmond
In a video shared by Eau de Space, NASA astronaut Tony Antonelli says space smells ‘strong and unique’, unlike anything he has ever smelled on Earth. According to Eau de Space, others have described the smell as a mix of gunpowder, seared steak, raspberries, and rum, smokey and bitter.
The fragrance is made in the UK, utilizing living wage labor and environmentally friendly practices including zero manufacturing waste. Eau de Space has been created as the first product developed by the creators whose goal is to ‘increase STEM through experiential education’.
For $29, you could smell out of this world.
Eau de Space currently has over $43,000 donations on Kickstarter and nearly 2,000 backers. With an estimated delivery date of October 2020, a $29 pledge will get you one flacon of Eau de Space.and the company will donate a flacon to a K-12 STEM program. There are slight discounts if you buy in bulk, and for each flacon you purchase, Eau de Space will donate one.
Till now, Eau de Space does not have plans to mass produce the scent after the Kickstarter campaign, so if you’re thinking about pledging, don’t wait too long. Ohh… and as if all of this wasn’t exciting enough, the company also has a sister scent called Smell of the Moon in the works.
Eau de Space is not affiliated with NASA, CSA, SpaceX, Boeing, Elon Musk, Virgin Galactic, the International Space Station, the Russian Space Program, or the United States Government. But through STEM programs, they hope you will be one day
Eau de Space is available at eaudespace.com.
Yakymour Men 