Eau de Space: Former NASA Scientist’s New Perfume Smells Out of This World

Soon, you’ll be able to spritz yourself with perfume that smells like a mixture of gunpowder, seared steak, raspberries, rum, and burned cookies. It’s not Chanel No. 5, but it is the closest you can get to smelling outer space without boarding a rocket.

According to NPR, a new Kickstarter campaign is now producing Eau de Space, a fragrance that NASA developed in 2008 to help astronauts acclimate their noses to the scent of space during training. It was created by Steve Pearce, chemist and founder of Omega Ingredients, a company that produces natural flavors for the food and beverage industry. CNN reports that Pearce concocted his formula based on firsthand descriptions from astronauts, many of whom have agreed that there’s something smoky or burned about outer space's aroma.

NASA has kept the fragrance under wraps for the last 12 years, but Eau de Space product manager Matt Richmond and his team were able to get their hands on it “through sheer determination, grit, a lot of luck, and a couple of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests,” according to the Kickstarter page. They’re ready to share it with the public—and it’s for a good cause, too. Each $29 pledge covers two 4-ounce bottles of Eau de Space: one for you to use as you please, and another to be shipped to a school with a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program.

If you’re eager to support the next generation of space explorers but not keen on smelling like a charred grill yourself, you can donate $15 to the campaign, and the Eau de Space team will ship a bottle to a school without sending one to you. Orders are expected to ship by October 2020, and you can place yours here.