• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Astronaut who spent 166 days in space describes gruesome reality of being sucked out of airlock without a space suit

Home> Science> Space

Published 14:05 26 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Astronaut who spent 166 days in space describes gruesome reality of being sucked out of airlock without a space suit

Spoiler alert: it's not good

Rebecca Oakes

Rebecca Oakes

When it comes to the world's most impressive jobs, astronaut is definitely up there.

After all, what's cooler than blasting off hundreds of thousands of miles in a giant spaceship and discovering everything space has to offer?

But, there are a lot of misconceptions out there about space.

Advert

One former astronaut has sat down to set the record straight, debunking some common myths, including what would happen if you got sucked out of airlock without a space suit.

Former astronaut Chris Hadfield has shared what would happen if you got sucked out airlock without a space suit (Ian Tuttle/Getty Images)
Former astronaut Chris Hadfield has shared what would happen if you got sucked out airlock without a space suit (Ian Tuttle/Getty Images)

Chris Hadfield is a former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot who flew two Space Shuttle missions and spent 166 days on the International Space Station.

Speaking to WIRED, he said: "There's this common perception that you will immediately fry to a crisp by the unfiltered, unadulterated solar radiation if you get sucked out of the airlock."

Advert

The reality, however, is far more gruesome.

"In the shade in space it's like minus 250 degrees," he explained. "But the part of you that's in the sun is plus 250 degrees at least. It's like lying on a red hot stove with a piece of dry ice on your back.

"Your lungs are going to be sucked flat immediately. But even worse than that is your blood is going to boil like opening a can of pop where suddenly all the little bubbles come out because there's no air pressure around you.

Due to extreme differences in temperature in space, you would simultaneously freeze and burn to death (WIRED/NASA/YouTube)
Due to extreme differences in temperature in space, you would simultaneously freeze and burn to death (WIRED/NASA/YouTube)

Advert

Hadfield continued: "So, simultaneously, you're going to freeze, boil, burn, get the bends and not be able to breathe - not a good way to go.

"I've done two space walks and I was very thankful to have a space suit around my body so that none of those things happened to me."

But these bulky, unisex suits aren't exactly comfortable, as revealed by former NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman in her book Sharing Space.

While she never really noticed the discomfort when she was working, she'd see some serious damage at the end of a session.

Advert

"I’m always surprised to see myself in the mirror," she said. "My arms and legs are covered with red and purple bruises and abrasions. Sometimes I’m bleeding from where the suit and I battled to get into an especially tricky position.

"My fingers are raw from being mashed inside the gloves, and the nail beds are often bruised, occasionally leading to the loss of a nail. I’ve been so focused on the task at hand that I didn’t even notice until now.

"I crush my arms and torso against the sides and armholes whenever I try to reach things. Even with the padding, I’m a mess when I take it off."

Featured Image Credit: WIRED/CSA/YouTube
Space
Science
News

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
12 hours ago
a day ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Huge problem with Elon Musk's SpaceX's Starlink satellites is leaving scientists concerned

    The Musk-led company is interfering with future space research

    Science
  • 12 hours ago

    Scientists uncover $12,000,000,000,000 of newfound resource that could power electric cars for 50 years

    This could be a major resource for our future climate

    Science
  • 12 hours ago

    Highest alert issued as Indonesian volcano erupts 11,000 meters into the sky spitting ash for miles

    Authorities are warning people not to go within four miles of the volcano's crater

    Science
  • a day ago

    Video on China's Tiangong Space Station sparks conspiracy theories as everyone notices the same suspicious detail

    Who knew a glass of water could cause such a commotion?

    Science
  • American astronaut spent nearly 100 days longer in space than 'stranded' Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore
  • Astronaut who spent 152 days in space reveals the 'scariest' thing he had to do in orbit
  • Astronaut who spent 152 days in space reveals the 'most breathtaking' thing he saw while in orbit
  • Astronaut who spent 6 months on the ISS shares brutal reality of spacewalking that left her 'bruised' and 'bleeding'