There is little doubt that sending humans into space is an extremely tough and dangerous task. Since the beginning of human space travel just over 60 years ago, 20 individuals have died: 14 in the NASA space shuttle disasters of 1986 and 2003, three cosmonauts on the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission, and three astronauts in the 1967 Apollo 1 launch pad fire. Given the complexities of human spaceflight, it’s rather astonishing how few people have died so far. NASA, on the other hand, intends to send a crew to the Moon in 2025 and people to Mars within the next decade. Commercial space flight is becoming more common. As space travel grows more common, so increases the potential of someone dying in the process.
What happens to the body if someone dies in space?
It begs the bleak but vital question: What happens to the body if someone dies in space? If someone died on a mission in low-Earth orbit, such as the International Space Station, the crew might bring the body to Earth in a capsule within hours. If it happened on the Moon, the crew might return home in a matter of days with the body. NASA has previously detailed protocols in place for such events.
Because of the speedy return, it’s likely that the preservation of the body would be a secondary issue for NASA; instead, the top priority would be ensuring that the surviving crew returned safely to Earth. Things would be different if an astronaut died while traveling 300 million miles to Mars. In that case, the crew would most likely be unable to turn around and return. Instead, the body would most likely return to Earth with the crew at the conclusion of the mission, which would be a few years later. Meanwhile, the crew would most likely keep the body in a separate chamber or specialized body bag. The constant temperature and humidity inside the spacecraft would potentially aid in the preservation of the body.
All of these circumstances, however, would only apply if someone died in a pressurized environment, such as a space station or a spacecraft. What would happen if a person went into space without the protection of a spacesuit? The astronaut would perish very immediately. The astronaut would be unable to breathe due to the loss of pressure and exposure to the vacuum of space, and blood and other body fluids would boil. What if an astronaut stepped onto the Moon or Mars without a spacesuit? The Moon has almost no atmosphere – only a trace of it. Mars has a relatively thin atmosphere with little oxygen. As a result, the outcome would be similar to that of exposure to open space: asphyxia and boiling blood.
Cremation is undesirable because it consumes too much energy, which the surviving crew requires for other objectives
Assume the astronaut died after landing on Mars’ surface. Cremation is undesirable because it consumes too much energy, which the surviving crew requires for other objectives. Burial is also not a good idea. Bacteria and other organisms from the human body have the potential to contaminate the Martian surface. Instead, the body would most likely be preserved in a specially designed body bag until it could be returned to Earth. There are numerous unanswered questions concerning how explorers might deal with mortality. It’s not merely a matter of deciding what to do with the body. As vital as treating the remains of the individual who died is assisting the crew in dealing with the loss and assisting the bereaved families back on Earth. However, in order to fully colonize distant worlds, whether the Moon, Mars or a planet outside our solar system, this bleak scenario will necessitate preparation and rules.
