Here's what NASA plans to do if an astronaut dies in space

_Tombstone_

Tis a tricky one this alright when you think about it...

http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-if-someone-dies-in-space-2015-4?r=US

The simplest solution is to just pop the ship's airlock and send the body floating out into the vacuum of space, as in Spock's funeral in "Star Trek."

It turns out that one of the weird international rules that govern the cosmos prohibits this. A UN agreement says you can't litter in space, and that includes dumping bodies.

So we need a plan B, One of the most interesting proposals for dealing with death in space is a collaboration between the green burial company Promessa and NASA that spawned the idea of the "Body Back." Body Back involves an airtight sleeping bag that a human corpse is zipped into and then exposed to the freezing temperatures of outer space.

The frozen body is hauled back on board and intensely vibrated around until it shatters. You end up with about 50 pounds of finely ground human body dust that you can hang outside your spacecraft until you arrive at your destination.

Captain Chaos

If it happens on the ISS what's wrong with dumping the body. It will burn up so it's not littering or pack in in a Progress craft as they burn up on their way back.

irishgeo

<snip> wrong thread

artanevilla

Is there a particular piece of equipment that does the vibrating or are they using existing machinery to do this?

NSAman

artanevilla wrote: »

Is there a particular piece of equipment that does the vibrating or are they using existing machinery to do this?

***Snigger*** vibrator....

ZeroThreat

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

Tis a tricky one this alright when you think about it...

http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-if-someone-dies-in-space-2015-4?r=US

I assume they want to test this out to be sure before attempting the procedure on an actual dead astronaut, hence the reason Sarah Brightman is going into space soon.

Yellowblackbird

No need to lose crew

Calibos

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

Tis a tricky one this alright when you think about it...

http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-if-someone-dies-in-space-2015-4?r=US

What nonsense. Badly worded law I imagine. Do we want to clutter up NEO with Rubbish where its a danger to other craft or satellites. Of course not. But if you are dumping a body in NEO surely its fairly easy to ensure it quickly re-enters and burns up. If it happens on a mission to the Moon or Mars, then whats the issue with space 'burial'. Non NEO space is huge and the chances of the body ever being seen again is tiny.

As for the Vibration machine to shatter a frozen body to dust??? Surely it would save a lot more space and weight to carry a small rocket motor that can be attached to the body bag to boost it away so its not a collision danger to anything.

looksee

Considering the total impossibility of shattering a frozen chicken or pork chop, I wonder what kind of vibration device they are thinking of? It would have to be pretty big to get a person into it, and very violent to shatter a frozen body. If you can afford the space to put in this kind of machine on the off-chance you might need to shatter a body, why not just use it to preserve the body till the ship gets back...and presumably someone is going to want to do some sort of a post-mortem exam anyway?

irishgeo

you cant litter in space doesn't the astronauts liquid waste go into space and space is full of space junk.

artanevilla

looksee wrote: »

Considering the total impossibility of shattering a frozen chicken or pork chop, I wonder what kind of vibration device they are thinking of? It would have to be pretty big to get a person into it, and very violent to shatter a frozen body. If you can afford the space to put in this kind of machine on the off-chance you might need to shatter a body, why not just use it to preserve the body till the ship gets back...and presumably someone is going to want to do some sort of a post-mortem exam anyway?

If you freeze it to a low enough temp you could smash a chicken/pork chop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcAn3jdSR2o

Also I'd imagine it's a health hazard keeping a dead body on board, although if they keep it frozen I don't see how.

Rubecula

artanevilla wrote: »

If you freeze it to a low enough temp you could smash a chicken/pork chop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcAn3jdSR2o

Also I'd imagine it's a health hazard keeping a dead body on board, although if they keep it frozen I don't see how.

Keep it outside until it is time to return perhaps.

josip

Wouldn't the most important part be to dehydrate the cadaver before disposing of it?
An 80kg astronaut would contain approx 50kg of water.
Even at rock bottom $60,000 a kg to Space Station, that's €3m of recyclables that needs to be recouped.

Capt'n Midnight

vibrating a frozen body to dust ?

srsly ?


In LEO you won't get that cold since the earth radiates too




Oh yeah re-entry cremation doesn't exactly work , but a frozen body might break up when it hits the ground
https://what-if.xkcd.com/28/



or leave the body outside for the water to sublime off, freeze dried is a lot lighter , and then use a parabolic mirror if you want higher temps , no convection or conduction means temp should get really high

Rubecula

Not sure why it would happen. If an astronaut dies in space it will be brought back within a day or two anyway.

Maybe in a few hundred years when we may be going beyond the moon it would take on a more technical scenario, but for now it will not be a problem. Apart from the astronaut in question of course.

_Tombstone_

Rubecula wrote: »

Maybe in a few hundred years when we may be going beyond the moon it would take on a more technical scenario, but for now it will not be a problem. Apart from the astronaut in question of course.

A few hundred years??

Only thing to make it take that long is nuclear war...

Rubecula

Or a total lack of finance and desire by the moneymen

_Tombstone_

Rubecula wrote: »

Or a total lack of finance and desire by the moneymen

Ahh, You have the Chinese and India getting into it now, no shortage of funds their, Chinese not really playing catchup either as they're stealing all the IP they can get their hands on either cuz they make it or hack it.

Japans trying to get back in it, they plan to lead the US in some areas in the coming years, new Moon lander mission planned for 2018, gonna land in a 260ft hole the orbiter they sent up in 2007 spotted.

"There are areas of unlimited potential yet to be developed, and to boost controls of future threats it is important to minimize the power vacuum in space exploration," the document says.

It forecasts increased competition for resources on the moon, and also risks from a possible "power imbalance" as Russia, China, India and other countries prepare for missions to the moon.

"A revival of competition and co-operation in moon exploration adds to the imperative for us to quickly achieve moon exploration," it said, calling for consideration of an unmanned moon landing, among other goals.

Oh arrrr, Fighting talk.


And we the new sneaky Satellites Killers, dicks of yokes but innovative. Always money available to spy on each other/gain an advantage and space is the way it's heading.

Sh1tload of private companys building new rockets/Tourism/X prizes. I think it's only starting to pick up now.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/japan-sets-sights-on-the-moon-to-keep-pace-with-china-india-1.2337048
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11531013/Russia-busts-foreign-satellite-spy-ring.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/cdd0bdb6-6c27-11e4-990f-00144feabdc0.html

_Tombstone_

NASA Awards Radiation Challenge Winners, Launches Next Round to Seek Ideas for Protecting Humans on the Journey to Mars

http://fusion.net/story/129464/regular-people-may-help-nasa-get-humans-to-mars/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=/feed/