'I spent three months living on ISS and discovered space has a distinct smell'

A retired astronaut has admitted that space has its own distinct smell. She also gave answers to some of the other bizarre questions that people have about going up into space as an astronaut.

Nicole Stott is a former NASA astronaut, who retired in 2015 after a glowing 27-year long career in space exploration. During her time at the association, she went on two separate expeditions above the Earth and spent three months on the International Space Station.

Since hanging up her astronaut suit, Nicole has embarked on a new venture, becoming an artist and an advocate for using art as a form of scientific research. But now, she has unveiled some of the secrets of space and how astronauts are able to cope in such extreme conditions.

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In an interview with , Nicole was asked a series of commonly asked questions about life in space and how it is possible to exist on the ISS. She went on to tackle a wide array of subject ranging from mundane tasks to deeper topics such as sexism in space exploration and the future of humanity as a whole.

However, one of the most common questions she received was to determine what space smelled like. Beaming with smiles, she quipped: "Well, it would be a bad day if you actually went out there and tried to smell it yourself, so don't do that."

Nicole explained that while it is impossible to get a full sense of smell from space, humans can get some understanding of the odours released in space through astronauts themselves. Particularly, the suits they wear whilst on space walks and how they smell once they are back inside the capsule.

"When [the suits] come back into the Space Station, you get this very distinct kind of sweet, metallic smell; that's what I think off," Nicole recalled. She went on to liken the smell to that of the metal from a can of soup and when it is rubbed against the lid.

She also joked that space does also have the smell of a "mildly overheating car radiator", which she admitted many do not see as being the same thing. However, she hit back: "But it is, it's like a sweet, metallic smell!"

Nicole also blasted people who believe that the Earth is flat. She added that many conspiracy theories surrounding the Earth are able to be dispelled simply, even whilst standing on the planet itself.

"The Earth definitely isn't flat, and we don't even have to go to space to know the Earth isn't flat," Nicole fumed. "And when was the last time somebody fell off?

"And have you ever seen a turtle's head popping up out over the side of it?" she jokingly questioned. She did admit that her favourite part of working on the Space Station was spending time in the "cupola module", which provides a phenomenal view of the Earth from one side to the other.

"If you have free time as an astronaut in space, you will be found in that module because it just gives you this horizon to horizon view of the planet," she reflected. "That opportunity to view Earth in that way was the most extraordinary part of the whole experience."