Russian cosmonauts discovered cracks in the Zarya module of the International Space Station (ISS). These cracks are feared to spread over time and be dangerous.
"Shallow fissures were found in several places in the Zarya module. These are poor conditions and indicate that the cracks will start to spread over time," said Vladimir Solovyov, chief rocket engineer and space company Energia.
According to NASA, the Zarya module, also called the Functional Cargo Block, was the first component of the ISS to be launched into orbit on November 20, 1998.
Solovyov recently stated that the ISS is starting to show signs of aging, and warned that there could be an "avalanche" of faulty equipment in 2025.
The appearance of these new cracks follows several recent incidents on the ISS. In March, Russian cosmonauts sealed two tiny gaps the width of a human hair in the Zvezda module.
As for the Zvezda module, it houses two cosmonauts and supports the station's life support system along with a backup life support system on the station's US section. Minor cracks in the module are thought to be the source of the air leak, which NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos have been investigating for months.
Then in August, the jet boosters on the Russian research module Nauka suddenly fired and pushed the entire station out of place. The module had just docked at the station a few hours earlier, and when the thrusters suddenly misfired, Nauka basically tried to pull away from her docking point thus pulling the ISS along with her. Russian space officials said a software glitch and human error likely caused the incident.