• 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.

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.

Advert

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."

The reality, however, is far more gruesome.

Advert

"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)

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.

Advert

"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.

"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.

Advert

"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:

15 hours ago
17 hours ago
18 hours ago
22 hours ago
  • 15 hours ago

    Scientist made shock admission ahead of NASA mission to asteroid 'worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000'

    It's not what most people want to hear

    Science
  • 17 hours ago

    Ozempic users share shocking ‘Ozempic sex’ side effect that not many people know about

    It's not just your wasitline that could be shrinking

    Science
  • 18 hours ago

    Solar panels illegal in 49 states could transform energy for the USA

    A YouTuber showed how the solar panels can be plugged into a home outlet

    Science
  • 22 hours ago

    How to set up emergency weather warnings on Android and iPhone following tragic Texas floods

    This comes after a tense questioning of the county sheriff about emergency alerts

    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
  • Space capsule carrying ashes of 166 people plunges to Earth after hitting 'anomaly'