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On a TV show about outer space, a question is asked like this:

"What does it smell like in space?" BBC-Space (see:00:00-00:05)

As a non-native speaker, I would have said "What does space smell like?" When I googled both sentences, they both yield many results, so I think both can be used, however I still wonder, which one would native english speakers probably say?

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    This native English speaker would say "What does X smell like?" of an object or substance, and "What does it smell like in X?" of an environment.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Oct 4 at 18:08
  • @KateBunting - This one might well say 'what does an abbatoir/rugby club changing room/rose garden/wet dog/old sock smell like?'
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Oct 4 at 18:27

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Different questions.

The first is asking about the smells that astronauts experience when in space, and (from an assumed context) not actually exposed to space, but in a space-station. It's quite likely that space stations with people living close together, and difficulties with washing, will smell. But the smell comes from the people, and perhaps the equipment.

The second is about smell that comes from space itself. That's non-sensical, since space is "nothing" and so it can't have a smell.

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  • space is "nothing" and so it can't have a smell and if you exposed your nose to it, you'd die.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Oct 4 at 19:49

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