Though it’s an unlikely thought, researchers have devoted their minds to learning what might happen to your body if you passed away in space. We’ll discuss this fascinating subject today!
Understanding how people can survive in space for protracted periods of time is crucial as NASA plans to launch more manned space missions in the future, including missions to Mars and the moon. Twenty people have tragically lost their lives so far while on space missions, but these incidents took place during launch failures before they reached space.
Leading space researchers have made predictions about what might happen even though NASA hasn’t experienced death in space yet (and we hope they never have to). One scenario is that if a person were to venture into space without a pressurized spacesuit, they might perish in the vacuum of space.
Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station, talks about this worst-case scenario. He explains that there is a chance of being hit by a micro-meteorite during a spacewalk, which could puncture the spacesuit and knock the astronaut out in a matter of seconds. Isn’t that a pretty terrifying thought?
Let’s now get into a more visual explanation. Although you might believe it to be merely a dramatic effect used in movies, it is not. Professor of space medicine Emmanuel Urquieta provides insight into the horrifying outcome of an astronaut exposed to space’s vacuum. His calculations showed that in just ten seconds the astronaut’s blood and other vital fluids would boil. Within fifteen seconds, they would pass out as their body swells and their lungs constrict. They would most likely pass away from asphyxiation or decompression within thirty seconds, which would be a truly devastating outcome.
In relation to death in space, there is the difficult question of interment—or lack thereof. According to Urquieta, if someone were to pass away on Mars, burial or cremation would not be an option because they might contaminate the Martian surface. In such a case, the crew would probably preserve the body in a specialized body bag until it could be returned to Earth for proper arrangements. It serves as a somber reminder of how difficult space exploration is.
In the unfortunate event that an astronaut died in space, their body would eventually become frozen or mummified and float through the void of space for perhaps millions of years. Their remains might be destroyed by a planet, star, or even heat and radiation without oxygen to aid in decomposition. It is a challenging idea that makes us consider the size and abrasiveness of the cosmos.
So as we contemplate the enigmas of the cosmos, let us be grateful for the explorers and scientists who push the limits of our knowledge despite the difficult and unusual circumstances they encounter.
