The ISS orbits the Earth at an average altitude of about 400 km above the surface NASA An air leak recently detected at the International Space Station (ISS), which forced five of the seven astronauts in orbit to temporarily take refuge in a safe area of the complex, has once again fueled fears about the structure's safety. Small leaks at the station have been monitored since 2019. According to NASA, air leaks have been relatively small in recent months, but intensified last Friday (5). NASA announces crew members for Artemis III, test mission for future trips to the Moon On that occasion, five astronauts spent around two hours sheltered in SpaceX's Dragon "Freedom" capsule, attached to the station — known as a "safe haven" — ready to return to Earth if the situation worsened. The measure was taken as a precaution after the detection of an air leak in the Russian area of ​​the station. During this time, two Russian cosmonauts remained at the station to make repairs. NASA's decision to end the confinement came after the Russian space agency Roscosmos temporarily suspended repair work on the PrK transfer tunnel, connected to the Zvezda service module, with the justification that it would need to analyze new data and measurements about the leak. It has not yet been announced when a new repair attempt should be made. Now on g1 NASA reported that the problem has been present in this module "for some time" and highlighted that it will continue to collaborate with the Russian agency to address the problem jointly. "The safety of the crew and systems on board is not at risk; the pressure inside the ISS is stable and remains at the expected level," Roscosmos reported. How exceptional is an air leak on the ISS? According to experts in the space sector, this type of occurrence is not as surprising as it seems. “You always need to keep in mind the size of the ISS”, explains Jan Wörner, former director of the European Space Agency (ESA). "In such a large infrastructure, there are always certain leakage rates in connections." The greatest risk arises when there is a localized failure in materials, such as seals or gaskets, which can cause air loss to evolve in an unpredictable manner. In these cases, temporary evacuations are part of safety protocols. Wear after years of use The Russian Zvezda module, the centerpiece of the incident, shows signs of wear after decades of use. Specialist Georgi Trishkin points out the presence of microcracks in old welds and other structural defects. "The main problem is wear in the coupling area," he said. The module has already undergone 66 dockings — more than any other on the station — and each operation represents an additional load on the structure. These leaks have been reported for approximately seven years, with varying results in repairs. This time, it is a new leak, unrelated to previous repairs, which makes identifying the cause more complex. Onboard team and operations Currently, the ISS houses the four members of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission — including Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev —, NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two other Russian cosmonauts. The Zvezda module, launched in 2000, performs essential functions such as life support, flight control, power supply and docking of Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Despite geopolitical tensions, especially Russia's war against Ukraine, international cooperation on the station continues involving the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and ESA. According to the operator SpaceX, the Dragon spacecraft has capacity for up to seven people. Future of the station NASA plans to end operations of the International Space Station by the end of 2030 and deorbit in 2031, after more than three decades of service since its launch in 1998. The agency intends to replace the ISS with commercial platforms in low Earth orbit to continue microgravity research and technology testing. Meanwhile, incidents like this reinforce both the challenges and the robustness of one of the greatest achievements of international scientific collaboration.