Astronauts repair hole in wall of International Space Station

Six astronauts worked to fix a leak in the wall of the International Space Station.

The problem was first detected by mission control Wednesdaynight as areduction of pressure in the station, but it was small enough that the crew was allowed to sleep all night, NASA reported.

The leak came from a two-millimetre hole in the orbital compartment of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft in the Russian segment. This section does not return to Earth.

The holewas likely caused by a micrometeorite or orbital debris hitting the space station.

As of Thursday afternoon, NASA reported that cabin pressure was holding steady. Flight controllers in Moscow worked with the crew to repair the hole with an epoxy gauze wipe. They also raised the cabin pressure in the station using the Progress 70 cargo ship's supply of oxygen. Meanwhile, flight controllers in Houstoncontinue to monitor the situation.

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerstreportedly put his finger over the hole initially.

"In effect, he literally touched space without a space suit," tweeted the YouTubechannel Techniques Spatiale.

The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has created a commission that will investigate the cause of the leak.

The European Space Agency reportedcrew members are in no danger,as there areweeks of air left in the ISS reserves.

Along with Gerst, the crew includes NASA astronauts:

• Drew Feustel, the current commander, and Ricky Arnold and Serena Aun-Chancellor, all from the U.S.
• Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyevof Roscosmos, both from Russia.