Space

Gazza

Hi Shaz
the tempreture in space 3 deg Kelvin which equates to about minus 275 deg C
so you would be frozen solid theres no oxygen so not much decay, you would proberbly dehydrate and look a bit shrivelled but thats about it.
Gazza

paulH

Do you mean a body in a space suit or a body without suit expelled from a space ship eg like a burial.
I will assume without a suit.
Decomposition starts upon death and if the body was sent straight into space withing moments of death, the vacuum there would cause all water on the surface of tissues, (inside mouth and lungs) to evaporate in effect freeze drying the surface cells. Any gases dissolved in liquids - blood , cells would have the pressure released like a bottle of fizzy drink and the gases would push against the cells trying to expand them, if enough then they might rupture them. At the same time the side of the body facing the sun would become extremely hot, while the opposite side would become very cold (- 200 degrees Celcius at least. The heat would arrest decomposition on one side and the cold freeze decomposition on the other side and all the while the body would continue to diffuse and eliminate water and any other evaporative materials. In effect the body woud become a mummy.

phoenix

but then again becuse it's supposed to be so cold in outer space you'd think that the body would be "snap frozen" and therefore preserved forever :)

MariaG

There has been lots of stuff written on the effect a total vacuum would have on a body, there there isn't much about the effect on a dead body. Based on what I've read, however, I'll lunge forward with this scenario.

Many of the same things that cause a body to decompose on Terra Ferma would continue in space, since they don't require oxygen. Our intestinal tract is host to millions of tiny bacteria that begin to digest you as soon as one falls off the perch (for want of other terminology). On a more elemental level, dying cells release enzymes that break down various proteins and molecules.

The body would experience internal ruptures as the pressure drops, but skin, even dead skin, is a pretty resilient package.

I would assume that since water vaporizes in a vacuum, eventually the body would become entirely desiccated. I would imagine that the body would also be exposed to all sorts of radiation. The end result of this may well be a very skinny corpse floating around in space. Now that's something that gives me something to ponder.

Shaz

There has been lots of stuff written on the effect a total vacuum would have on a body, there there isn't much about the effect on a dead body. Based on what I've read, however, I'll lunge forward...

Thank you for your most interesting scenario, it certainly does give me something to ponder on. I appreciate the time you took in replying.

codge

there is no atmosphere in outer space.