About 21 lives have been lost since the first man boarded a rocket and went into space 60 years ago, but as space agencies prepare for the first human mission to Mars, many are confident that the number deaths will certainly rise.
Astronauts heading to the Red Planet will spend at least seven months in a capsule on a path never taken by humans, and if they survive the journey to the Red Planet, they will then endure the harsh environment of the Martian world.
When a crew member dies, it would take several months or years for the body to be returned to Earth, raising a question: what happens to the body of a person who dies in space?
Experts have suggested a number of ways to dispose of the body, including “throwing” it into the dark abyss or burying the person on Mars – but the remains should first be burned so as not to contaminate the surface.
However, a worst-case scenario has been presented in which the heroes in the space fairing are left without food and the only edible thing is the dead body of their fallen crew partner.
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When a crew member dies, it would take several months or years for the body to be returned to Earth, raising a question: what happens to the body of a person who dies in space?
We are entering an exciting space age, which many hope will lead to the first boots on Mars.
However, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk once said, “if you want to go to Mars, get ready to die.”
NASA does not have established protocols for treating death in space, but researchers around the world have made efforts to respectfully eliminate a fallen astronaut, as reported by Popular Science.
If a crew member dies while traveling more than 170 million miles to Mars, the body can be placed in the cold storage or freeze-dried until the boat reaches.
Experts have suggested a number of ways to dispose of the body, including “throwing” it into the dark abyss or burying the person on Mars – but the remains should first be burned so as not to contaminate the surface.
Freezing drying in space is very different from that on Earth – the body would be kept outside the capsule, where space would cover it in ice.
But if keeping cold is not an option, the surviving crew can send their deceased partner into space.
Catherine Conley, of NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection, told Popular Science: “Currently, there are no specific guidelines in planetary protection policy, either at NASA or internationally, that address the ‘burial’ of an astronaut. died by being released into space ”.
Releasing the body into space seems the easiest option, it would become trapped in the path of the boat and would remain exactly where it was left.
And if many missions choose this method, future rockets heading for Mars will grow through a sea of corpses.
When astronauts arrive on Mars, they will face new challenges that will threaten their survival, one of which is radiation.
Previous data on the red plant suggest that the radiation experienced on Earth is hit 700 times.
Radiation can alter the cardiovascular system, damaging the heart, tightening and narrowing the arteries, or removing some of the cells in the linings of blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular disease and can end in death.
In this case, a Martian burial will be required, but NASA has strict laws regarding the contamination of other planets with microbes on Earth.
“As for the removal of organic matter (including bodies) on Mars,” Conley told NASA in Popular Science, “we do not impose restrictions as long as all the Earth’s microbes have been killed – so incineration would be necessary.”
Freezing drying in space is very different from that on Earth – the body would be kept outside the capsule, where space would cover it in ice.
When astronauts arrive on Mars, they will face new challenges that will threaten their survival, one of which is radiation. Previous data on the red plant suggest that the radiation experienced on Earth is hit 700 times.
If they die while on the Red Planet, a Martian burial will be required, but NASA has strict laws regarding the contamination of other planets with microbes on Earth – the body will have to be burned first.
However, not every dead astronaut is likely to be buried, but otherwise eaten so that others can survive.
It may sound barbaric, but experts are looking at what happened when a plane crashed in the Andes in 1972.
The passengers had no food or communication, so in order to live, they made the difficult decision to eat those who had died when the plane landed.
Bioethicist Paul Wolpe said: “There are two types of approaches. One says that although we owe an enormous amount of respect to the body, life is primary and if the only way we could survive would be to eat a body, it is acceptable, but not desirable.