Now space agencies and companies are starting to talk about the potential to build human colonies on other planets. This means that experts have to start talking about what life is like in outer space, and what will happen if humans die there.
The process of decomposition of the human body after death in space will certainly be different from what happens on Earth. If a human dies on Earth, his body will experience livor mortis where the blood flow will stop and pool due to gravity.
After that the body will cool down and move on to the algor mortis stage. Furthermore, the muscles in the body will become stiff due to an uncontrolled buildup of calcium in the muscle fibers, otherwise known as rigor mortis.
After that, enzymes and proteins will speed up chemical reactions and destroy cell walls. At the same time, the bacteria in the intestines will come out and spread throughout the body.
These bacteria devour soft tissue and the gas they release makes the body swell. Once all the muscles have disappeared the rigor mortis will stop, the body will begin to emit unpleasant odors, and the soft tissues will be broken down.
A lecturer in applied biological anthropology at Teesside University, Tim Thompson, explained that if humans died in space, the process would not be the same as what happened on Earth. Because gravity on other planets is not the same as on Earth, the livor mortis phase will certainly be affected because blood cannot pool.
If the deceased's body is in a spacesuit, the rigor mortis phase will still occur because it is the result of the body's cessation of function. Bacteria in the intestines will still be able to devour soft tissue, but these bacteria still need oxygen to work so this process can be slowed down if the oxygen supply is limited.
Once the body is buried in space, the microbes present in the soil also aid in the decomposition process. If the soil on another planet turns out to be very dry, it will inhibit the work of microbes so that the soft tissue will still be durable, as quoted from The Next Web, Tuesday (19/10/2021).
The process of decay on a planet whose conditions are very different from Earth's will also be influenced by several factors. For example, on Earth only the organic parts of bones will decay, so the fossils and bones we see in museums are inorganic remains.
But on other planets where the soil is very acidic, the opposite could happen, where organic components such as blood vessels and collagen would survive and inorganic components would decompose.
However, this can also be influenced by the planet's environmental conditions. For example, with Mars being very dry and desert-like, soft tissues could dry up, and wind-blown sediments could erode and destroy bone skeletons like what happens on Earth.
Temperature is also another factor that affects the decay process in outer space. For example, on the Moon where the temperature is between 120 and -170 degrees Celsius, a decaying body may show damage caused by hot or cold temperatures.
