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aSpace travel for recreational purposes is becoming a very real possibility, there may come a time when we are traveling to other planets for vacations, or perhaps even to stay. Commercial space company Blue Origin has already started sending paying customers On sub-orbital flights. And Elon Musk hopes to start a based on Mars With his firm SpaceX.
That means we need to start thinking about what it would be like to live in space – but also what would happen if someone dies there.
Here on earth the human body passes through several stages of decomposition after death. These were described in 1247 as
song cis wash off wrongdoings, essentially the first forensic science handbook.
First the blood stops flowing and begins to coagulate as a result of gravity, a process known as liver mortis. The body then cools down to algor mortis, and the muscles become stiff due to an uncontrolled buildup of calcium in the muscle fibers. This is a condition of rigor mortis. Next enzymes, proteins that speed up chemical reactions, break down cell walls and release their contents.
Along with this, the bacteria in our stomach get released and spread throughout the body. They eat away at the soft tissue – rot – and the gases they release cause the body to swell. Rigid mortis comes undone as muscles are destroyed, a strong odor is released and soft tissue breaks down.
These decomposition processes are internal factors, but there are also external factors that affect the process of decomposition, including temperature, insect activity, body burial or wrapping, and the presence of fire or water.
mummificationDrying or drying of the body occurs in dry conditions that can be hot or cold.
In moist environments without oxygen, fat can form, where water can cause the fat to break down into a waxy material through the process of hydrolysis. This waxy coating can act as a barrier over the skin to protect and protect it.
But in most cases, the soft tissue will eventually disappear to reveal the skeleton. These hard tissues are very flexible and can live for thousands of years.
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stop decomposition
So, what about death in the final frontier?
Well, the different gravity seen on other planets would certainly affect the levor mortis phase, and the lack of gravity when floating in space would mean that the blood wouldn’t pool.
Inside a spacesuit, rigor mortis will still occur because it results in the cessation of bodily functions. And bacteria from the gut still eat away at the soft tissues. But these bacteria require oxygen to function properly and so a limited supply of air will slow down the process significantly.
Microorganisms from the soil also help with decomposition, and so any planetary environment that inhibits microbial action, such as extreme dryness, improves the chances of preserving soft tissue.
Decomposition in conditions so different from Earth’s environment means that external factors will be more complex, as with the skeleton. When we are alive, bone is a living material that includes both organic matter such as blood vessels and collagen, and inorganic matter in its crystal structure.
Normally, the organic component would decompose, and so the skeletons we see in museums are mostly inorganic remains. But in very acidic soils, which we can find on other planets, the opposite can happen and inorganic components can disappear leaving only soft tissues.
The decomposition of human remains on Earth is part of a balanced ecosystem where nutrients are recycled by living organisms, such as insects, microbes and even plants. The environment on different planets would not have evolved to use our bodies in the same efficient way. Insects and scavengers are not present in our system on other planets.
But Mars’ dry desert-like conditions could mean that soft tissues dry out, and perhaps wind blown away sediments and damaged skeletons in a way we see here on Earth.
Temperature is also a major factor in decomposition. For example, on the Moon, Temperature can range from 120°C to -170°C. So bodies can show signs of heat-induced changes or cold damage.
But I think it’s likely that the remains would still appear human because the whole process of decomposition that we see here would not happen on Earth. Our bodies would be “aliens” in space. Perhaps we will need to find a new form of funeral practice that does not involve the high energy requirement of cremating or digging graves in harsh inhospitable environments.
Tim Thompson, Dean of Health and Life Sciences + Professor of Applied Biological Anthropology, Teesside University
This article is republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons license. read the original article.
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