Andrew Heinzman
Astronauts are often shocked by the small details outside our world, like microgravity’s effect on cooking or the phenomena of cosmic rays. But one of the strangest details of space, and the hardest to explain to Earth-dwellers, is that it stinks. Now, a new fragrance called Eau de Space captures the smell of space and brings it down to Earth.
The Eau de Space fragrance was initially developed for NASA by a chemist named Steve Pearce. Using descriptions from astronauts, Pearce crafted a scent that matches the smell of space. But NASA isn’t the one selling Eau de Space. Instead, a small company (called Eau de Space) managed to obtain the recipe through FOIA requests and sells the perfume through Kickstarter.
Alright, but how does Eau de Space smell? Astronauts and scientists describe the smell of space as “metallic,” like “fried steak” with “raspberries and rum.” That sounds kind of nice, but the company Eau de Space believes that its fragrance is more of an educational tool than anything.
Every pledge to the Eau de Space Kickstarter guarantees a bottle of the fragrance for K-12 schools. At the time of writing, the Kickstarter is already $203,000 past its initial $1,969 goal, so it’s safe to assume that a lot of students will smell outer space this year. If you want a bottle of the fragrance, then you’ll have to pledge at least $30 to the Kickstarter.
Eau de Space doesn’t plan to mass-produce its perfume after the Kickstarter campaign ends next month. So, if you want to smell outer space, now’s the time to pony up $30.
Source: Eau de Space via Engadget
