Alongside experiments aimed at reducing air pollution and prostate cancer, astronauts are collecting essential oils from Jerry O roses and Asian rice flowers as their delicate buds bloom in a special container on the SPACEHAB module, project director Dr.

Weijia Zhou said on Wednesday.

Zhou, speaking at a mission status briefing, said experiments on a previous shuttle mission showed that the essential oil of a rose is altered by micro-gravity to create an all-new scent.

Although both smell tests and laboratory analysis confirmed the new aroma, Zhou and professional perfumers struggle to describe it.

"What we thought was it was something that was a little out of this world," said Jan Little, spokeswoman for International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. of New York.

IFF, the world's No. 1 fragrance maker, is the commercial partner on the flower experiments following the success of its earlier space rose scent.

Oils extracted from an Overnight Scentsation rose launched in 1998 aboard space shuttle Discovery lead to the creation of a new scent that has been incorporated into a perfume called Zen by Shiseido and a body spray called Impulse by Unilever.

Little said the search is always on for new scents to satisfy customer demand and changing tastes. The current experiment not only uses a different type of rose but seeks to combine the scents of the rose and rice flowers which are housed in one container.

As the flowers bloom and emit their essential oils, Zhou said astronauts collect the specimens by holding absorbent needles above the petals.

If the resulting fragrance is pleasing to professional sniffers, Zhou said, the new scent can be synthesized on Earth. Some of the samples were taken on Wednesday.

The mission's crew of seven includes Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. The shuttle launched last week from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is scheduled to land on Feb. 1.