What Might Happen To The Body Of A Person Who Dies In SPACE?

 

Nearly 21 people have died since the first man climbed into a rocket and launched into space 60 years ago. As space agencies prepare for their first human mission to Mars, the death toll will likely rise.

Astronauts heading to the Red Planet will spend at least seven months inside a capsule on a path humans have never taken. And if they survive during the journey to the Red Planet, they will endure the harsh environment of Mars' climate.

And when a crew member dies, it may take months or years before the body is returned to Earth, which raises one question: What happens to the body of a person who dies in space?

Experts suggested a number of ways to dispose of the body, including "throwing the corpse" into the dark abyss or burying the person on the surface of Mars. However, the worst-case scenario was presented with the heroes of space running out of food, and the only edible thing was the corpse of their deceased colleague.

NASA has not established protocols to deal with death in space, but researchers around the world have put this work in place to respectfully dispose of a dead astronaut.

If a crew member dies while making a trip of more than 170 million miles to Mars, the body can be placed in a cold storage or freeze-dried until the spacecraft comes into contact with ground. Freeze dried method in space is very different from what happens on the ground. The body will be placed outside the capsule, where space will cover it with ice. But if keeping cool is not an option, the surviving crew can send their comrade's body into space.

Launching the body into space appears to be the easiest option, as it becomes trapped in the spacecraft's path and remains exactly where it was left. If many missions choose this method, future missions destined for Mars will fly across a sea of ​​corpses.

And when astronauts reach Mars, they will face new challenges that threaten survival, one of which is radiation. Previous data indicates that the red planet has been exposed 700 times to the radiation that the Earth has been exposed to. Radiation can alter the cardiovascular system, damage the heart, harden the arteries, or destroy some cells in the linings of blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular disease and possibly death.

In this case, a burial on Mars would be necessary, but NASA has strict laws about contaminating other planets with Earth's microbes. However, not every dead astronaut will likely be buried, but eaten so that the others can survive.

It may sound barbaric, but experts are looking forward to what happened when a plane crashed in the Andes in 1972. The passengers had neither food nor a means of communication, so they made the difficult decision to eat the bodies of those who died when the plane crashed in order to survive.

Bioethicist Paul Wolpe said: “There are two approaches. One of them is that although we owe the body an enormous amount of respect, life is fundamental, and if the only way one can live is by eating the body, then that is reluctantly and unacceptable desirable".