Jun 19, 2020 20:00:00

What happens to the human body when thrown into outer space without a space suit?

Astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) do not stay onboard the entire space flight, and sometimes go out into outer space and perform extravehicular activities. In such a case, it is

a space suit that makes it possible to survive and work safely in outer space, but about the question, ``What will happen to humans if they are thrown into outer space without wearing a space suit?'' , Science media ZME Science explains.

What would happen to humans exposed to the vacuum of space without a spacesuit?
https://www.zmescience.com/science/what-happens-human-space-052523/

Among the widely whispered theories are that the human body explodes when thrown into space alive, and that in space, blood boils instantly, evaporates and dies. Also, there are science fiction movies depicting such scenes, but even if you actually jump out into outer space without wearing a space suit, it seems that the human body will not explode or the blood will boil.

Although we are rarely conscious of it in our daily lives, the human body living on Earth is always pushed by the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure inside the body pushes it back to maintain balance. However, since outer space is in a vacuum state, there is no

atmospheric pressure that exists naturally on the earth. Therefore, if you fly into outer space without protection such as a space suit, you will fall into a state of rapid decompression.

The theory that ``the human body explodes when it jumps out into outer space'' is associated with this rapid decompression. However, according to ZME Science, human skin is very flexible and tough, so it can expand according to decompression without spilling important tissues and organs.

However, the effects of sudden decompression are not small, and the rapid evaporation of water in the tissues causes the body to swell, and the expansion of the air in the intestines causes pressure on the heart and diaphragm, decompression sickness , etc. increase. In addition, it seems that there is a possibility that damage to the tissue of the lungs and airways may occur due to the sudden loss of air from the lungs.

It is said that the direct cause of death for humans who have jumped out into outer space alive is lack of oxygen. Nonetheless, holding your breath is the 'worst thing you can do', thinking that you shouldn't use oxygen when you fly out into outer space. If you hold your breath in space, air bubbles will enter your bloodstream and reach your brain, causing a stroke, or your lungs will burst as the pressure changes.

But even if you don't hold your breath, you'll quickly run out of oxygen. If you are lucky, you may be conscious for about 15 seconds after going out into space, but after that, you will lose consciousness, and in about 2 minutes, your organs will run out of oxygen and you will die. increase.

In the past, there have been several cases of 'accidents caused by exposure to vacuum or rapid decompression'. In an accident that occurred at

the Johnson Space Center in 1965, a technician who entered the vacuum chamber accidentally decompressed and lost consciousness in about 12 to 15 seconds. After 27 seconds, the vacuum chamber was repressurized, and the technician regained consciousness, and although he lost his sense of taste for about four days after the accident, he recovered safely. In the 1982 accident, a technician was exposed to a low-pressure environment equivalent to only 3.6% of atmospheric pressure for one minute, resulting in bluish skin and bleeding from the lungs. The man is said to have made a full recovery after the accident.

Also, when the ISS is facing the sun, the external temperature is about 121 degrees, and when the sun is blocked by the earth, the external temperature is about minus 157 degrees. seems to threaten However, since there is no air in space, heat cannot be transferred to the human body through the air or by convection. Radiation is the only way heat is transferred in space, but ZME Science points out that it takes time to transfer heat by radiation, so you'll die from oxygen starvation before you die from heat.