Featured Image Credit: @MAstronomers / X
When you're up there in space, miles away from Earth, there are plenty of things to worry about. From malfunctioning systems to alien attacks, sci-fi disaster movies have taught us it usually never ends well. There have also been enough real-life tragedies that have shown space travel is just as dangerous as Hollywood makes it seem. Now, a horrifying simulation has asked us what we would do if we were in the boots of an astronaut and watched the Earth get destroyed in front of our eyes. Trust us, it's much worse than simply being stranded in space.
Shared on X, the video shows a pair of astronauts planting a flag on the surface of the Moon, looking on as the Earth explodes. There's no reveal about what destroys the Earth in this scenario, but safe to say, that the results are cataclysmic.
You're an astronaut and this happens... what do you do? pic.twitter.com/V02xMszKbz
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) December 2, 2024
While one of the astronauts is wiped out by a rogue piece of flying Earth rock, the other is forced to watch as they're engulfed by a cloud of debris. With the caption saying, "You're an astronaut and this happens... what do you do?" there are plenty of suggestions.
The most popular comment simply reads: "Doesn't seem like there is much to do. lol."
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Another added, "I don’t know if it’s the editing style or the animations or just the fact that I saw the earth artificially explode, but this gives me existential dread on an extremely impressive level."
A third joked: "Duct tape it maybe."
Mainly, most of the comments reiterated how the debris from Earth would never be traveling at enough speed to reach the Moon in the mere seconds the video suggests. Still, even if it took hours for chunks of Mother Earth to hit the Moon, it doesn't change the outcome of the astronauts being royally doomed.
A similar question was asked on Quora, and its answer is even more bleak. Imagining a scenario where you jump inside an escape craft, and you might try to find another habitable planet in the Alpha Centauri star system, but as it's about 4.2 light-years away, it would take you 100,000 years to get there. Deciding to return to the International Space Station, you'd be forced to pray for a miracle but watch your supplies slowly run down with no chance of rescue. Even if the supplies last, you'd be subjected to the effects of extended time in space, losing bone mass and being hit by radiation from the Sun.
Ending on a cheery note, the scenario ends by saying: "You close your eyes and wait for the end."
Until we manage to set up bases on the likes of the Moon or Mars, the future of the human race ends with Earth. Even if we can start inhabiting other planets, who's to say humanity will be able to survive without Earth as a hub?
