![\"Cosmonaut](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/A-Russian-cosmonaut-and-his-colleague-venturing-outside-the-International-Space-Station-ISS-on-a-spa.webp\")
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An astronaut on a spacewalk outside the International Space<\/a> Station (ISS) discovered an odd \u2018blob\u2019 in space and was told to leave the area \u2018immediately\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ISS was launched almost 30 years ago and is the largest spacecraft ever built.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s operated by five space agencies: NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, Russia\u2019s Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, and Japan\u2019s JAXA, and moves at a phenomenal speed,<\/a> which means it orbits the Earth more than 15 times per day. <\/p>\n The ISS has provided the longest continuous presence of humans in space, and there have been some pretty scary moments throughout the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search<\/a> to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology<\/p>\n The blob was spotted just outside the International Space Station <\/p>\n In 2015, astronauts on board the International Space Station were told to prepare themselves for the worst after ground staff spotted an asteroid<\/a> hurtling towards it.\u00a0<\/p>\n And in 2023, two Russian cosmonauts came across a suspicious spacewalk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub were on the Expedition 70 spacewalk on the ISS when they came across the weird blob.\u00a0<\/p>\n The astronauts contacted control and were instructed to immediately leave the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the substance wasn\u2019t some sort of scary alien liquid.\u00a0<\/p>\n It actually turned out to be caused by a radiator that was leaking coolant.\u00a0<\/p>\n The coolant had begun to pool outside, which was what the astronauts spotted.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two men managed to isolate the leak so that it wouldn\u2019t contaminate anything else.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kononenko had then planned on mopping up the liquid, but after some of it got onto his safety tether, he was told to leave immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n The tether was then placed inside a bag, and the two astronauts followed safety procedures to make sure their suits were free from contamination before re-entering the space station.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although mysterious space blobs and leaking coolant might sound like a cause for panic, both men were fine and were able to return safely to the ISS.<\/p>\n NASA has said the ISS will be de-orbited in 2031 <\/p>\n When it was launched, the ISS was originally intended for a 15-year mission, but it has almost doubled that and has been in orbit for 27 years, three months, and 26 days \u2013 at the time of writing \u2013 and has been continuously occupied by humans for more than 25 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, all good things must come to an end, and the station is expected to cease operations after 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773900367_174_A-Russian-cosmonaut-and-his-colleague-venturing-outside-the-International-Space-Station-ISS-on-a-spa.webp\")
<\/a>Roscosmos\/NASA<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Facts-about-the-International-Space-Station-683x1024.webp.webp\")
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