Imagine you are an astronaut on a mission in outer space. However, when you are in outer space, suddenly the safety is broken and you are thrown into the void of outer space. What will happen?
Of course the answer is death. However, in detail, what will happen to the human body? Will the body explode to pieces? Or, the human body will freeze into ice? Or, both? Sit back, and see the facts!
1. The liquid in the human body boils in space!
Space is a vacuum. In other words, unlike Earth, there is no surrounding atmosphere or pressure generated by air molecules. Atmospheric pressure determines the temperature at which a liquid can boil or evaporate.
If the pressure exerted by the air outside the liquid is high (such as sea level on Earth), it is more difficult for gas bubbles to form and rise to the surface of the liquid. However, because there is no atmospheric pressure in space, the boiling point of liquids also drops.
“As you can imagine, since the human body is 60 percent water, this is a serious problem.” say Dr. Kris Lehnhardt from NASA, reported Live Science.
Because there is no pressure, the liquid in the human body will quickly boil and evaporate. Kris emphasizes that all body tissues that contain fluid will begin to expand.
–
2. Jim LeBlanc, exposed to the void of outer space and living to tell the sensation!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/KO8L9tKR4CY
In the documentary series “Moon Machine“, Jim LeBlanc, NASA’s aerospace engineer, recounted that he was testing a prototype spacesuit in a large vacuum in 1966. Jim later recalled a time when he encountered vacuum conditions in a simulation.
Believe it or not, Jim had faced death at that time. At one point, the hose supplying compressed air to the prototype suit was cut off and Jim was left in a vacuum.
“As I fell backwards, I felt saliva on my tongue start bubbling and then I passed out. That’s the last thing I remember.” say Jim in the episode titled “The Space Suit” in 2008.
Fortunately, Jim was rescued in time and was able to recount his stressful experience.
Also Read: Astronaut’s Testimony, 10 Strangest Events in Space
Continue reading the article below
Editor’s picks
—
3. Ebulism that can cause death
ilustrasi: scuba diving (pixabay.com/csitdms)–
The formation of gas bubbles in body fluids due to low or absent pressure is called “ebulism”. Not only in astronauts in space, ebulism can also occur in scuba divers who rise from the seabed (high pressure) to the surface (low pressure) of the ocean too quickly.
Back to outer space. If the astronaut’s gear is damaged or unused, the blood in the veins boils slightly more slowly than the fluid in the body’s tissues. This is because the circulatory system has its own pressure. However, ebulism in body tissues will soon be visible.
–
4. Humans can’t last more than 2 minutes
illustration: trapped in outer space (distractify.com)–
According to research in the US published in the journal “Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance“Both animals and humans lose consciousness within 10 seconds in a vacuum. Some lose control of their bladder and digestive system, and the muscles swell, constricting blood flow to the heart and brain.
According to “Bioastronomics Data Book” in 1973, NASA revealed that a vacuum could draw air out of the body’s lungs, causing humans to suffocate within minutes. After that, the vacuum would continue to draw gases and vapors from the body through the respiratory tract.
“No human can survive. The definite result is death in less than 2 minutes,” added Kris.
–
5. Besides heating up, humans also freeze in space
Illustration of an astronaut (unsplash.com/Niketh Vellanki)–
As the evaporation of the liquid molecules absorbs body heat, the continued boiling of the liquid also produces a cooling effect and causes the parts near the nose and mouth to almost freeze. Of course, other parts of the body will also cool down, but more slowly because there is less evaporation of liquid going on there.
Reported Forbes, astrophysicist Paul M. Sutter, explains that temperature is a measure of the energy transferred by atoms and molecules. However, because space is empty, there is almost no movement of atoms and molecules, making them cold. In addition, there is no matter in space that can transfer heat.
Therefore, without adequate equipment, humans can freeze due to evaporation of body fluids and the gradual loss of heat energy through body radiation.
Those are some of the terrible things that happen to humans who are in space without adequate preparation. Although complicated and burdensome, at least, the cool astronaut suit protects humans from death in space! Don’t want to end up like Ebony Maw in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), can?
Also read: 5 Medical and Scientific Threats to Astronauts to Planet Mars
–
–
