What If You Went To Space Without A Spacesuit?

What will happen if a naive astronaut with a short-term memory loss forgets to wear his protective spacesuit and floats outside the spacecraft?

Well, in that case, the first and obvious thing the naive astronaut will feel is a complete lack of oxygen.

Yes, as we know, space is almost an absolute vacuum, meaning it is empty and when our body is exposed to a vacuumed area, it has only fifteen seconds worth of oxygen in it. That means if the poor astronaut doesn't get back to the oxygen-rich site of his spacecraft within fifteen seconds, then his body will loss all the oxygen and the poor astronaut's brain will go unconscious.

And if you think he could hold his breathe to get some breathing space, then that's the worst thing we can do in space without a spacesuit. That's because due to the lack of pressure in space, the oxygen located inside the lungs would expand, causing the lungs to rupture, which could be fatal.

So instead, it is advisable to breathe out and keep your lungs empty in such a situation. This way, despite being unconscious after fifteen seconds, your body can survive up to two minutes in space with a little risk of permanent damage.

But let's say the naive astronaut managed to get some oxygen supply by a stroke of luck and managed to stay conscious. Well, despite that, it will be hard to stay in space without a spacesuit due to the lack of atmospheric pressure around him.

Yes, without the protection of the Earth's atmosphere, the ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and gamma rays would not only burn his already bubbling skin but also damage the DNA, giving the astronaut a terrible sunburn.But that's NOT it.

Due to this lack of atmospheric pressure, the next thing to happen to the astronaut is the vaporization of water in his body, causing it to swell to about twice the normal size. But fortunately, as human skin is very elastic and enduring, unlike popular belief, he WON'T burst like a balloon but continue to float in the vastness of space until help arrives.

So, in short, if some astronaut accidentally walks out in space without a spacesuit, then we have only fifteen seconds to bring them back to safety before it's too late.

Thanks For Reading!

Author: Muniza Shah