It said images of the ISS surface captured by external cameras were being analyzed and data suggests there isn’t an ammonia leak from the system as a result of the 12 inch long puncture to the cover sheet.
The NASA delegation to the Russian Mission Control Center has offered no comment on the situation.
The hardware in question is one of the key elements of the heat rejection systems utilized by the orbital outpost.
So far, the ISS does not appear to be suffering any ill effects of the damage, while no leaking from the panels has been observed at this time.
MicroMeteoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) strikes on space hardware are not uncommon and continue to be a major risk factor all spacecraft have to deal with.
Such MMOD strikes were observed on a large amount of Space Shuttle missions, especially late into the mission when the orbiter had undocked from the protection of the ISS and was preparing to head home.
The ISS is manned by Russia's Alexander Skvortsov, Oleg Artemyev and Maxim Surayev, U.S. astronauts Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman and German astronaut Alexander Gerst.
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