As the era progressed, attention became focused on traveling outside of Earth to establish colonies on other planets. We may have to think about the worst possible case of failure: “death in space”.
In a NASA report released to the Popular Science website (popsci.com), it states: “NASA does not prepare contingency plans for all remote risks. (like a long trip to Mars)
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NASA’s response to unplanned in-orbit situations will be determined in a real-time collaborative process. Between the Flight Operations Committee Director of Health and Human Performance, NASA leaders and our international partners.”
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This means Even NASA has no plan in case a crew member or astronaut dies outside of Earth or even outside of the spacecraft. How to deal with dead bodies is an immediate problem-solving process.
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But if humanity intends to travel far to colonize other planets, perhaps we will have to consider the question. And what will happen to the body? If we died in space
Dying in space, an event that no one would want to happen.
“Worst case scenario something happens during space travel,” said Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. And a former commander of the International Space Station said: “Suddenly you could get hit by a small meteorite. And you can’t do anything about it. It can make holes in your outfit. And in a few seconds you ‘Incompetent'”
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Generally, the hypothetical astronaut would only have about 15 seconds before losing consciousness. But the unfortunate could not do much. The cold pressure and temperature of outer space will quickly overwhelm you. Then your body starts to harden. Exposure to space causes your body’s fluids to suddenly sublimate.
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In a low-pressure vacuum, any liquid from our body surfaces such as our skin, eyes, mouth, ears and lungs instantly turns into a gas, said Jimmy Wu, chief engineer of the Space Health Research Institute at Bay College. These blood vessels close to the skin may be more likely to rupture and bleed. Even if he’s dead
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However, the little water left in the body tends to freeze. Since the base temperature of space is -270.45 degrees Celsius, the loss of fluidity combined with freezing causes “mummification” and thus bacteria in the body come into play.
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Research conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) suggests that some bacteria can survive in space for at least three years, and if they survive in the body, this means They will continue their normal process. as well as starting to digest from the inside
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The intense radiation in space can also cause damage to the body. It breaks the carbon bonds that are the building blocks of cells. This causes rapid deterioration of the skin and muscles. The corpse of a fictional astronaut has now been transformed into one. A dehydrated, solid, mummified body is digested from the inside. and damaged from the outside and will continue to float in the direction from which it was pushed until it collides with another object. And that’s the next problem.
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Myles Harris, a scientist at the Institute for Disaster Risk and Reduction at University College London said that the corpses “actually pose a risk” to all satellites in Earth orbit.
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To prevent this from happening, NASA recommends taking the body further into space and out of planetary orbit. Because a solid corpse can cause further damage.
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But as time passes Earth’s gravity gradually pushes the body backwards. It will eventually burn up in the atmosphere and disappear. This is what could happen if you die in space and the body is difficult to recover. But what happens if we die in a spaceship?
Dying in space: a freeze-dried funeral
“During my 16 years as an astronaut, I don’t remember talking to any of the other astronauts about the possibility of death,” said NASA astronaut Terry Virts. “But we all knew that was the case. You can go. But there was no mention of it in the room.”
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Although death is not officially part of the operations of various space organizations, But many space partners, such as NASA, provide training on these missions before the trip. or the Japanese (JAXA) and European (ESA) Space Agency, which prepares in the event of the death of any crew member.
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“We have these things called ‘Emergency Simulation’ where we discuss what to do with the body,” Werts said.
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Dead bodies in space are more of a problem than you think. It’s not just that someone dies and then a religious ceremony follows and then it’s done. But space is complicated, starting with body bags that are mostly unprepared for missions. Therefore, the body can be stored in the astronaut suit. So what’s the deal with the smell? And, above all, it is a biological danger. This makes it difficult to decide whether to keep it, return it to Earth (where it is not designed to carry corpses), or launch it into space.
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Many scientists have suggested guidelines. If there really were a death, it could happen the same way as death in a submarine. When a crew member dies, no captain would immediately order the ship to moor. Therefore, the corpse is kept near the torpedo. This is the cold area and most separated from the accommodation.
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Likewise, space station crews may have to keep corpses in the station’s coldest spots and in pressure suits. To reduce the impact of odors and bacteria
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“I could wear them[i corpi]in a pressure suit. The body actually decomposes faster than in a space suit. And we don’t want the smell of rotting meat or gas. It’s not clean, so we’ll keep it in the suit in a cool place on the station,” Hadfield said. “Keep it until one of the ships comes home. They will have third class seats on the ship.
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Some agencies are going further: “Promessa”, a Swedish eco-burial company, has come up with a new solution using a technique called “Promessa” in which the body dries until it hardens. Instead of reducing the body to ashes through traditional cremation. Instead, it turns frozen corpses into millions of tiny pieces of ice.
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The process can be a little scary. It will use a robotic arm to “hang” a corpse inside a bag on the outside of the spacecraft. To allow the cold of space to harden the corpse until it becomes fragile. The robot’s arms then vibrate, causing the body to shatter into ash-like debris. This allowed the other crew of the ship to keep this odorless, harmless ‘corpse’ for years. Here’s how it would work if that hypothetical astronaut died during a spaceship flight.
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But what would happen if we died on another planet?
Burial like a Martian
Elon Musk (Elon Musk) once openly posted this on his social network “If you want to go to Mars Prepare to die.” And so it seems. The trip to Mars took a long time. Moreover, errors can occur at any time and in any case, just as many films clearly suggest.
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If someone dies on the way to Mars or stays on Mars, keeping them there might be a better idea. “I think if the crew died while on Mars, we would bury them there instead of bringing the bodies home,” Hadfield said.
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The ship does not have a morgue. Not even the space station located on Mars has such a room. Therefore, burying him on Mars is the only option left. But many experts are worried about planetary contamination. Because every regulation states that “Terrestrial microorganisms should not be transported to other planets”, let alone corpses full of tiny bacteria.
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For this reason, all rovers and spacecraft are repeatedly cleaned and disinfected before launch, to help protect alien space from the invasion of Earth’s brave bacteria, but instead transporting corpses to Earth is itself very difficult. Therefore, this matter could be “economical”.
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“Regarding the disposal of organic matter (including corpses) on Mars, we do not impose any restrictions as long as terrestrial microorganisms are killed,” said Catherine Conley of NASA’s Planetary Protection Agency, so cremation is necessary,” she then put Street.
Prepare for the worst.
In fact, NASA has not released an official contingency plan for corpses. But they knew they had to be on site to deal with the loss of the crew. And as we enter the era of space exploration filled with rocket launches. There will surely be other similar cases, which everyone thinks about.
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“Exploration has always killed people. And I’m sure it will always be that way,” said shuttle astronaut Mike Massimino.
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Thinking about your options regarding death in space can help everyone prepare more consciously for the unexpected. Humans tend to adapt quickly to this event. and continue to progress Just like the journey to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Every climber knows the risks. And someone always dies. But a determined heart and conscious comparison will help everything work as it should.
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“If you climb Everest You will know if you die You will stay there,” says bioethicist Paul Wolpe. There will be no funeral up there. There is no storage location. and it wasn’t knocked down Hundreds of bodies lie on the mountain, reminding a new generation of mountaineers just how risky life can be. But humans continue to move forward.
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“Just accept it,” Volp said, “it’s part of climbing Everest.”
Research and editing by Witit Borompichaichartkul
Origin
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https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/would-a-corpse-decay-in-space
https://theconversation.com/death-in-space-heres-what-would-happen-to-our-bodies-169890
https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/what-would-happen-to-a-dead-body-in-space
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