Alarm sends astronauts to shelter at ISS

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) rushed to take shelter yesterday after a system failure signaled a possible ammonia leak, but Nasa said later it may have been a false alarm.

The six-member crew donned emergency masks and hurried to the Russian side of the orbiting lab two separate times after the problem was noticed at around 4am (0900 GMT).

At first, it seemed that high pressure outside the space station could have led to ammonia leaking inside, so the crew put on breathing masks and moved to the Russian side for safety.

Ammonia is used in the cooling and heating systems at the orbiting outpost.

The crew was allowed to come briefly back to the US side, but when Nasa noticed that pressure in the cabin was rising, the crew returned to the Russian side and closed the hatch behind them.

While the Russian space agency told news outlets in Moscow that the cause was a toxic ammonia leak, Nasa said there was no data to confirm that, and stressed that the crew was safe. The six astronauts taking shelter in the Russian segment have enough food for at least a week, Nasa said.