Leaks are affecting a key part of the International Space Station. NASA and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, are not seeing eye to eye about the level of risk.

The space station having a size equal to a football field must remain pressurised and filled with breathable gases at all times.

NASA and Russia's Roscosmos cannot agree on how dangerous the leaks in the Zvezda module may be to the station. While Russia believes the risk is low, NASA is reportedly concerned the leaks could lead to a catastrophic structural failure.

Officials with NASA are at odds with their counterparts at the Russian space agency Roscosmos over the severity of a leak aboard the International Space Station.

Crew-8 commander Matthew Dominick says NASA is carefully making decisions for astronaut safety while the ISS deals with a leak, and spacesuit issues, related to aging hardware.

NASA has concerns about the structural integrity of the Russian module and the "possibility of a catastrophic failure," per ISS Advisory Committee chair Bob Cabana

Some of the main modules of the International Space Station are nearly a quarter-century old. "That's considered classic for a car," said Bennett Maruca, an astronomer and physicist at the University of Delaware.

The station has been leaking air for five years, and NASA is concerned that this might indicate a potential failure in the structural integrity of the International Space Station.