How long Can a Human Stay alive without a space suit?
In this article, you’ll discover what actually happens to the human body in the vacuum of space, what NASA experiments reveal, and how long a human can stay alive without a spacesuit.
Just after four minutes without oxygen, permanent brain damage starts, and as fast as four to six minutes later, death may result.
Our lungs have around 15 seconds worth of oxygen in them. The astronaut would not be able to hold their breath to buy extra time. Due to the vacuum, the external pressure is negligible, causing the oxygen inside the lungs to expand and rupture them, which is ultimately fatal. So, it would be good if the astronaut breathed out and empty the lungs.
Cold War Space Race and the Most Dangerous NASA Spacesuit Test
During the Cold War the USSR and USA were trying to demonstrate their power through space technology advancement. NASA was planning to send humans to the Moon, so extensive testing was conducted. One such involved testing the effectiveness of pressurised spacesuits in the vacuum of space. NASA built a huge chamber from which all air pumped out. Jim LeBlanc, a test subject, didn't do well with the process. LeBlanc experienced the vacuum’s effect when the hose supplying essential oxygen to him broke out for roughly 30 seconds. He was fortunately saved with minimal injuries.
What if astronauts had an oxygen supply in space but no spacesuit?
Even with an oxygen supply, the astronaut’s hardship would not reduce significantly because they are in direct contact with sunlight which comprises harmful UV rays, X-rays and gamma rays, that can terribly cause severe sunburn. Also an astronaut's body would swell upto twice their normal size because the absence of the atmosphere would cause vaporisation of water in the body, the human skin is very elastic and enduring.
Will your body explode in space?
On Earth the atmospheric pressure is approximately 101 kPa and at this pressure water also boils. When the pressure drops to zero in space, a pressure gradient develops. The water inside the human body can start boiling at body temperature, saliva, tears, moisture on the tongue and fluids in soft tissues vaporize instantly. Here it is notable that blood does not boil as blood vessels maintain the internal pressure.
The vaporised liquid increases the volume and ebullism occurs. Our skin is strong and elastic and acts as a natural containment layer, that’s why the body does not explode and limited swelling, up to twice of body size can occur.
How long can a human stay alive without a space suit?
According to Space.com a person would fall unconscious due to deprivation of oxygen within 10-15 seconds. Due to lack of pressure, the oxygen would expand and rupture the lungs. In this situation, breathing out to keep the lungs empty could be one of the methods to stay safe for a few more seconds.
Why are space suits more like mini-spacecraft than clothes?
On a smaller scale, space suits do exactly what spacecraft do.
- Spacesuits provide continued necessary oxygen to the astronaut required and thus helps astronauts while they are outside of the spacecraft.
- The spacesuits have required pressure to which the body is habitual. Without this pressure, the body fluids will start boiling.
- Space suits have an insulation layer with chilled circulating water that protects the astronauts from the extreme temperature in space.
- Space has harmful cosmic and solar radiation that can sunburn and can also damage the DNA. Spacesuits provide shield against this.
- There are many micro meteoroids in space which travel at very high speed and can cause serious injury. Space suits have a strong outer layer and thus protect the body from these meteoroids.
Could Future Humans Survive Space Without Suits?
The space environment is an unbreathable, extreme vacuum, containing extreme radiation and high temperature that is absolutely unsafe for humans. But if humans make a base in space and live there for generations, then maybe the body can adapt through evolution like elongation of spine in less gravity, muscle and heart adjustment, but this process will take thousands-millions of years.
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