A journey to outer space is out of our reach, but not that of our noses.
A new fragrance called Eau de Space, which was first commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, claims to have accurately captured the scent of the expanse that exists beyond Earth.
The fragrance was developed by chemist Steve Pearce, who was engaged by Nasa to produce the perfume back in 2008.
Using descriptions from astronauts, the mission took him four years to complete, but now the fragrance can be sniffed by a wider audience thanks to a new Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
Eau de Space has teamed up with perfumers to develop the scent on a mass-production basis, should the online initiative raise enough funds.
"Decades ago, Nasa designed a fragrance to train astronauts on how outer space actually smells. Now we're releasing it to the world," the Kickstarter webpage details.
"We connected with Nasa to bring the world's first perfume, independently verified by actual astronauts, down to Earth."
The perfume was originally designed to help prepare astronauts for the realities of space, bringing on board Pearce, the founder of Omega Ingredients, to craft the scent.
While the ingredients are tightly under wraps, Eau de Space product manager Matt Richmond told CNN that "astronauts describe the smell as a mix of gunpowder, seared steak, raspberries and rum".
"The smell of space has been locked behind 'need to know', astronaut-only field training, and red tape for years," the Kickstarter page continues, adding that it has secured the rights to exclusively produce the fragrance. "Through sheer determination, grit, a lot of luck and a couple of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, we got it out."
The company aimed to raise $1,969 (Dh7,232) through the Kickstarter campaign, but the tally already sits at $95,705, raised by more than 2,500 contributors, with 46 days of the fundraiser left to go.
The fragrance is set to retail for $15 with an estimated delivery date of October.
