The Human Body in the Vacuum of Space Quiz

Answer: The body will not explode

The body is fairly elastic, and bones are tough. The skin has the ability to stretch enough to contain the increase in pressure difference from standard atmosphere to vacuum. Although if not wearing a pressure suit, the body may puff out to twice its normal size.

In 1960, a man named Joe Kittinger made a record breaking skydive from 100,000 feet while wearing a pressure suit. His right glove sprung a leak, and his hand swelled to twice its normal size, and circulation stopped within the appendage. Within a few hours of landing on the ground, his hand returned to its normal size with no damage done.

Answer: Ebullism

A person's arteries are generally strong enough to maintain their pressure below the boiling point of blood while exposed to vacuum. However, when ebullism occurs, oxygen from the blood will start to flow out of the mouth and lungs, and drop the internal blood pressure to below its boiling point. Before the blood completely boils, the heart will stop beating due to lack of oxygen in the blood.

This will occur over several minutes rather than instantaneously.

Answer: 10-15 seconds

It generally takes 10-15 seconds for oxygen deprived blood to reach the brain. At that point, a person would pass out from hypoxia. In 1965, a NASA technician was accidentally exposed to vacuum in a test chamber. He maintained consciousness for about 15 seconds before hypoxia set in. Pressurization was regained in 90 seconds, and that man survived.

Answer: A gas bubble being lodged in the heart, essentially causing hydraulic lock

Decompression sickness is a problem with divers, but the same principles can be applied to space. When an astronaut goes on a spacewalk, their spacesuit is pressurized to around 3 psi of pure oxygen. Standard cabin pressure is 14.7 psi, the same as sea level. Careful measures are taken before any spacewalk to combat the bends.

Answer: The temperature of space is close to absolute zero

In Low Earth Orbit, the Space Shuttle and International Space Station are traveling through the Thermosphere. Even though it is essentially vacuum, the few molecules that exist at that altitude can reach temperatures of up to 2500°C. Also, without an insulating atmosphere for protection, objects can get very hot because of radiative heat transfer from the Sun and Earth.

Answer: Total paralysis, followed by convulsions and a return to paralysis

This would be the result of vapor bubbles forming internal to the muscle tissue.

Answer: Potential temporary blindness, with total recovery shortly after repressurization

This is in contrast to the portrayal of vacuum in movies such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie Total Recall where his character's eyeballs popped out of their sockets when exposed to vacuum.

Answer: Exhaling as much of the air from the lungs as possible prior to depressurization

If air is prevented from escaping the lungs in a vacuum, the high pressure differencial can cause the alveoli in the lungs to burst, which would not be recoverable.

Answer: 90 seconds

This has been proven with both animal test subjects, and as a result of an accidental NASA vacuum chamber accident with a technician in 1965. The technician survived. Self-revitalization can only occur within the first 15 seconds though, since after that the person would lose consciousness.

Answer: Atelectasis

References:
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/q0291.shtml
http://www.sff.net/people/geoffrey.landis/vacuum.html

Just remember, when in space, wear a spacesuit! (And maybe some sunscreen too.)

Dedicated to the crew of Soyuz 11, whose crew, Georgi Dobrovolski, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev perished when thier cabin depressurized upon entry June 30 1971. None survived.