Which Astronauts Have Been Lost in Space?
Have any Astronauts been lost in Space?
The thought of being stranded in the vast emptiness of space without a way to return to Earth is a nightmare scenario that is hard to imagine. Unfortunately, this is the reality for one American and two Russian crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their Soyuz MS-22 capsule, which was supposed to transport them back to Earth, was hit by a meteor and developed a leak.
As there is currently no alternative method of transportation, the astronauts have no choice but to remain onboard the ISS until the Soyuz MS-23 is sent up by Roscosmos to bring them home. Originally planned to bring a new crew to the ISS in March, the Soyuz MS-23 will now be launched on February 20th without any crew members onboard.
Although astronauts are safe inside their pressurized spacecraft, the thought of being stranded in space without a ship is a terrifying prospect.
Fortunately, no astronaut has ever been irretrievably stranded away from their spacecraft before. The closest incident occurred on February 7, 1984, when Bruce McCandless became the first astronaut to float away from the Challenger space shuttle without a tether. McCandless used nitrogen gas thrusters on his spacesuit to propel himself 320 feet away from the shuttle and posed for an iconic photograph before safely returning to the spacecraft.
Above the Kármán line, which marks the edge of space at 62 miles up, there have been three deaths recorded. In 1971, Soviet Union cosmonauts Georgy Dobrovolsky, Viktor Patsayev, and Vladislav Volkov died from exposure to the vacuum and lack of oxygen after a malfunction caused a valve to open on the Soyuz 11 as it separated from the space station Salyut 1. However, their bodies were later recovered from the Soyuz after it had landed.
What happens to your body if you get lost in space?
If someone were to become lost in space, their survival would depend on whether they were wearing a spacesuit or not. Spacesuits are designed to keep astronauts pressurized, provide oxygen, and maintain warmth. Without a suit, death would occur within a minute, with the body being immediately exposed to the vacuum and intense temperatures of open space, causing the oxygen in the blood to come out of solution, resulting in loss of consciousness after about 10 to 15 seconds. The expansion of body tissues containing water would occur due to low pressure, and all air would be sucked out of the lungs. In the absence of oxygen, the blood would hold oxygen resources for only 15 seconds of brain activity, followed by complete brain death within 3 minutes.
In the vacuum of space, the normal processes of decomposition cannot occur. Without gravity, blood would not pool, and without oxygen, bacterial action would be severely impeded, resulting in the body either freezing solid or being dried out to a jerky-like consistency, depending on the temperature.
