This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A cosmonaut showed off a hole in the International Space Station on Monday that caused loss of oxygen, after Russia suggested the leak could have been caused deliberately.

Sergey Prokopyev posted a video on social media where he revealed the small sealed hole in the wall of a Russian-made Soyuz space capsule docked onto the ISS.

“As you can see, everything is calm on board; we are living in peace and friendship as always,” said the 43-year-old, who is on his first space mission.

РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) #НовостиИзНевесомости от космонавта Сергея Прокопьева:



«Друзья, решил снять видео, чтобы ответить на ваши многочисленные комментарии и развеять слухи. На МКС всё спокойно!» pic.twitter.com/ri7hKbe0SL

The hole was located on 30 August after an air leak in the orbiting space station, which is currently home to astronauts from Russia, the US and Germany.

The head of the Russian space agency Dmitry Rogozin caused a sensation last week when he suggested the hole could have been drilled deliberately – either back on Earth or in space.

International Space Station crew repair leak in Russian craft Read more

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An undated photo by NASA showing a hole found in the International Space Station (ISS). Photograph: NASA / HANDOUT/EPA

A Russian MP who is a former cosmonaut said that the hole could have been drilled by an astronaut who was mentally unbalanced.

The Russian space agency has convened a commission to investigate the incident which it said will present conclusions in mid-September.

Photos of the hole had not been officially made public although Nasa briefly posted an image in a video before deleting it.

The hole covered with dark sealant is hidden under a padded flap, Prokopyev showed in a video he said he had made to “dispel rumours”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sergei Prokopyev, a Russian cosmonaut on the International Space Station. Photograph: AP

Prokopyev described how the astronauts discovered “a 2mm hole where our air was going out” and covered it with three layers of sealant.

“Please don’t worry – we’re all right,” the smiling cosmonaut said, reassuring viewers that the module is now “completely hermetically sealed”.

“As you can see, we can easily be in here without space helmets and no one is plugging the hole with a finger as they write in the media.”

The Soyuz spacecraft is used to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. The hole is in a section that will not be used for the return journey to Earth.

Prokopyev’s video prompted grateful comments on his social media page, with one writing: “You are doing really well. Yes, people did worry too much.” Others joked about the incident: “Next time try drilling holes when you’re sober.”