Space station crew hunts for source of small cabin air leak: Nasa

Hurricane Genevieve is seen from the International Space Station orbiting Earth on Aug 19, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS

MOSCOW (REUTERS) - Three crew members on board the International Space Station will spend the weekend in the vessel's Russian segment while they search for the source of a cabin air leak, Nasa and Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Thursday (Aug 20).

"In September 2019, Nasa and its international partners first saw indications of a slight increase above the standard cabin air leak rate," Nasa said in a statement.

It said the crew, composed of Nasa's Chris Cassidy and Russia's Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin, would close the station's hatches this weekend to monitor air pressure and find the source of the leak.

Nasa and Roscosmos said the situation represented no immediate danger to the crew or to the space station.

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