text: Astronauts who have gone on spacewalks consistently speak of space's extraordinarily peculiar odor. 
   
   They can't smell it while they're actually bobbing in it, because the interiors of their space suits just smell plastic-y. But upon stepping back into the space station and removing their helmets, they get a strong, distinctive whiff of the final frontier. The odor clings to their suit, helmet, gloves and tools. 
   
   Fugitives from the near-vacuum — probably atomic oxygen, among other things — the clinging particles have the acrid aroma of seared steak, hot metal and welding fumes. Steven Pearce, a chemist asked by NASA to recreate the space odor on Earth for astronaut training purposes, said the metallic aspect of the scent may come from high-energy vibrations of ions. 
   
   "It's like something I haven't ever smelled before, but I'll never forget it," NASA astronaut Kevin Ford said from orbit in 2009. [Space Sights and Smells Surprise Rookie Astronauts] 
   
   But astronauts don't dislike the sharp smell of space, necessarily. After a 2003 mission, astronaut Don Pettit described it this way on a NASA blog: 
   
   "It is hard to describe this smell; it is definitely not the olfactory equivalent to describing the palette sensations of some new food as 'tastes like chicken.' The best description I can come up with is metallic; a rather pleasant sweet metallic sensation. It reminded me of my college summers where I labored for many hours with an arc welding torch repairing heavy equipment for a small logging outfit. It reminded me of pleasant sweet smelling welding fumes. That is the smell of space." 
   
   The interior of the International Space Station smells a little more mundane. Pettit, who recently returned from a second six-month-long mission on the ISS, told SPACE.com, "[The space station] smells like half machine-shop-engine-room-laboratory, and then when you're cooking dinner and you rip open a pouch of stew or something, you can smell a little roast beef." 
   
   Editor's note: This story has been corrected to state that Pearce was not hired, but was merely asked, by NASA to recreate the odor of space. 
   
   Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries. We're also on Facebook & Google+. ||||| WASHINGTON - For rookie astronauts flying aboard the International Space Station, the food is good, the rocket thrusters are loud and there?s an odd tang in the air - apparently from outer space. 
   
   ?It?s a very, very different environment than I expected,? Discovery shuttle pilot Kevin Ford, a first-time spaceflyer, said from orbit late Friday. 
   
   One of things Ford wasn?t ready for is the weird smell. 
   
   ?From the [spacewalks] there really is a distinct smell of space when they come back in,? Ford said from the station in a Friday night news conference. ?It?s like?something I haven?t ever smelled before, but I?ll never forget it. You know how those things stick with you.? 
   
   In the past, astronauts have described the smell of space as something akin to gunpowder or ozone. 
   
   The sounds of spaceflight have also been surprising, especially when Discovery fires up its large maneuvering thrusters, Ford said. 
   
   ?It definitely gives the shuttle a kick and you just feel a little twang throughout the whole orbiter when they?re firing to keep you in position,? he added. 
   
   Of the 13 astronauts aboard the International Space Station and docked shuttle, nearly half are taking their first trip to space. For some, it?s a short trip aboard the shuttle, which blasted off last week with three rookies aboard. 
   
   Other first-time spaceflyers are on the station for the long haul. Some have already been there for months, so the term ?rookie? barely applies. 
   
   ?The food is wonderful,? said rookie astronaut Nicole Stott, who arrived at the station Sunday on Discovery to begin a three-month stay. ?Of course we have a mix from all the partners now.? 
   
   The result, she said, is a sort of orbital smorgasbord that includes food from the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe. 
   
   ?I think you can find something for everyone,? Stott said. 
   
   Discovery?s seven-astronaut crew is in the middle of a 13-day mission to deliver fresh supplies and new science gear to the space station. The astronauts ferried Stott to the outpost to replace another NASA astronaut who will come home on the shuttle. 
   
   They also delivered a $5 million treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. 
   
   Even some of Discovery?s grizzled veterans were surprised by the life aboard the station, which is the $100 billion product of 16 different countries. 
   
   ?It?s really awesome to see all the work that?s been achieved up here since our last flight,? said Discovery commander Rick Sturckow, who is making his fourth flight to the station. ?They?ve added a new solar array and some new modules. The station is something that all the international partners can be very proud of for their contributions.? 
   
   New Image Gallery - Shuttle Discovery's Midnight Launch 
   
   New Video - Meet the STS-128 Shuttle Astronauts 
   
   Video - Food in Space: An International Smorgasbord 
   
   SPACE.com is providing complete coverage of Discovery's STS-128 mission to the International Space Station with Managing Editor Tariq Malik and Staff Writer Clara Moskowitz in New York. Click here for shuttle mission updates and a link to NASA TV.
target: – Outer space may be soundless, but it's apparently not odorless. Life's Little Mysteries recently stumbled upon a 2009 interview with a NASA astronaut that's too good to not resurrect. In it, Kevin Ford spoke of picking up the weird odor while undertaking spacewalks. It's not something he could smell while embarking on them (the plastic odor of the spacesuit delights the nose then), but once back in the International Space Station, the smell is there: a metallic odor that Life's Little Mysteries describes as having the "aroma of seared steak, hot metal, and welding fumes."