The International Space Station is constantly losing air
Astronauts living 250 miles above Earth must occasionally retreat to their rescue ships because the orbital laboratory bleeds atmosphere through its own walls.
Living in space is less like being in a submarine and more like being inside a slowly deflating balloon. The International Space Station is not a perfectly sealed environment, as it loses a small amount of air every day through normal operations like using airlocks or running life support systems. A persistent and growing leak in the Russian Zvezda module has even forced astronauts to take shelter in their return spacecraft to prepare for a potential emergency evacuation.
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