What does space really smell like?

1979's "Alien" taught us that "in space no one can hear you scream," which, according to a 2019 experiment, is true. That makes Ridley Scott's timeless sci-fi horror film a frightening science lesson as well. But so much about space is alien to humans that there's always more to learn about how awful it is. People who've had the honor of traveling up above the world so high like a diamond can tell you that space can do bad things to a body, including ruining their eyesight, impairing their immune system, causing their fingernails to fall off, and reducing their bone density. Simply put, space stinks. But does it also smell bad?

Popular Science points out that "a pure, unadulterated whiff of outer space is impossible for humans" because it's a vacuum, which sucks even more than the thought of space stinking. However, astronauts on the International Space Station who step outside for some fresh non-air have come back with the smell of space on their suits. According to them, it smells like "burned" or "fried" steak. When a fragrance maker tried to reproduce the odor of the universe for a simulation, "astronauts compared it to spent gunpowder."