# Death and decay **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515 "2008-12-10T05:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/1 "2008-12-10T05:01:59Z")
If someone threw my body into outer space when I die, would it decay even though there would be no bacteria to eat it? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/2 "2008-12-10T05:08:38Z")
Well, it wouldn’t last forever, if that’s what you mean. It would eventually disintegrate due to dust particle collisions, and would be eroded by energetic ions. Here’s some info:[http://www.agu.org/sci\_soc/EISclark.html](http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/EISclark.html) ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/3 "2008-12-10T05:33:27Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > If someone threw my body into outer space when I die, would it decay even though there would be no bacteria to eat it? The bacteria, they’re already inside you. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/4 "2008-12-10T05:39:11Z")
Well once his body heat is radiated off they’d be FROZEN bacteria. He’d be something of a frozen pizza if you left it in the back of the freezer for… oh… several years. Not rotten… But nothing all that pleasant looking either. ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/5 "2008-12-10T07:13:42Z")
> [@clayton\_e](#): > > Well once his body heat is radiated off they’d be FROZEN bacteria. > > He’d be something of a frozen pizza if you left it in the back of the freezer for… oh… several years. Not rotten… But nothing all that pleasant looking either. My body heat wouldn’t be radiated off?!?!?!?!? What if I was thrown towards the sun? ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/6 "2008-12-10T09:12:35Z")
Is **Badastronomy** still in the house? ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/7 "2008-12-10T12:56:42Z")
I’m not an expert, but it seems to me that the first thing which would happen is that your bodily fluids would boil off pretty fast. Since the human body is something like 2/3 water, there wouldn’t be much left of you. Probably a lot of the remainder would crumble into dust and disperse. But I think the skeleton might hang around for a while. Again, this is just my WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/8 "2008-12-10T13:03:59Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > Probably a lot of the remainder would crumble into dust and disperse.. Since we are not made of dust, I don’t see any mechanism in space that would turn flesh into dust. I think a corpse would desiccate into frozen space jerky. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/9 "2008-12-10T14:16:35Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > My body heat wouldn’t be radiated off?!?!?!?!? [Algor mortis.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algor_mortis) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/10 "2008-12-10T22:15:38Z")
In _3001: The Final Odyssey_, astronaut Frank Poole is healed and restored to consciousness and good health by human doctors despite having been killed, essentially freeze-dried and left adrift in space a millennium before. Implausible, sure, but remember Clarke’s Third Law! ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/11 "2008-12-10T22:51:35Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > I’m not an expert, but it seems to me that the first thing which would happen is that your bodily fluids would boil off pretty fast. Since the human body is something like 2/3 water, there wouldn’t be much left of you. Probably a lot of the remainder would crumble into dust and disperse. > \*\* > But I think the skeleton might hang around for a while.\*\* > > Again, this is just my WAG. That’d be so cool! A bone-yard in space…I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/12 "2008-12-11T02:12:03Z")
The OP is basically describing [freeze drying](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze_drying) which is a good way to preserve perishable items for a long time. On-board bacteria would face a very hostile environment, with neither the temperature nor the moisture they need to survive. ---
**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/13 "2008-12-11T08:12:04Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Since we are not made of dust, I don’t see any mechanism in space that would turn flesh into dust. I think a corpse would desiccate into **frozen space jerky**. Band name! Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/14 "2008-12-11T12:42:06Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > I’m not an expert, but it seems to me that the first thing which would happen is that your bodily fluids would boil off pretty fast. Since the human body is something like 2/3 water, there wouldn’t be much left of you. Probably a lot of the remainder would crumble into dust and disperse. > > But I think the skeleton might hang around for a while. > > Again, this is just my WAG. My WAG is that your WAG is wrong. All those fluids are contained inside you. I think you would just swell up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/15 "2008-12-11T16:44:29Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > My WAG is that your WAG is wrong. All those fluids are contained inside you. I think you would just swell up a bit. My WAG is better than both your WAGs, because it is not a WAG. 🙂 > **[Imagine the Universe!](https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/ask_astro/index.html)** > > This site is intended for students age 14 and up, and for anyone interested in learning about our universe. > **[Aerospaceweb.org | Ask Us - Human Exposure to the Vacuum of Space](https://aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/q0291.shtml)** ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/16 "2008-12-11T16:49:58Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > The OP is basically describing [freeze drying](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeze_drying) which is a good way to preserve perishable items for a long time. On-board bacteria would face a very hostile environment, with neither the temperature nor the moisture they need to survive. They would survive better than you’d think, since freeze drying or freezing at -80C is the preferred method of keeping bacterial culture stocks. They would not be active at these temperatures though, so the effect is the same until you brought your space jerky back into a warm humid environment. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/17 "2008-12-12T01:30:37Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > My WAG is that your WAG is wrong. All those fluids are contained inside you. I think you would just swell up a bit. Well, it’s not like nothing can leak out. > [@](#): > > Since we are not made of dust, I don’t see any mechanism in space that would turn flesh into dust. I think a corpse would desiccate into frozen space jerky. I think that’s a good point. If beef jerky doesn’t crumble, then human flesh arguably should not crumble when dessicated. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/18 "2008-12-12T04:37:52Z")
> [@masterofnone](#): > > They would survive better than you’d think, since freeze drying or freezing at -80C is the preferred method of keeping bacterial culture stocks. They would not be active at these temperatures though, so the effect is the same until you brought your space jerky back into a warm humid environment. Well if your orbit brought you close to the sun you’d be, in effect, a comet of sorts. The heat from the sun would probably heat to boiling some of the fluids causing some of them to spew out your various orifices. The rest would be inside, kept at some reasonable temperature, I’d assume. I bet, given a good sun roasting and the fact that your deep insides would be protected from radiation… That we could have a teeming biological mess inside a charred vaguely human shaped comet. I can’t believe I wasted several minutes of my life theorizing about this disturbing image. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/19 "2008-12-12T04:44:24Z")
And from **Davekhps** ’s second link: > [@](#): > > The body will not instantly freeze either because even though space is generally very cold, the fact that it is a vacuum means there is no medium to conduct heat away from the body and it cools rather slowly. > > The only parts of the body where these trends do not necessarily hold true are the nose and mouth. As mentioned earlier, the rapid escape of air through these humid regions causes an evaporative cooling effect. Moisture in the mouth absorbs body heat causing the mouth to quickly cool to near freezing temperatures. As saliva absorbs heat, it boils into water vapor and is carried away with the escaping air. Turns out I was incorrect about my heat radiating off theory. I bet, though, over time lots of water would boil away from the tongue and eyes until there was little heat left. Maybe, though, if the liquid in the feet and torso were still around while the vascular systems to the head finally froze shut some heat could be retained… Leaving the guts to do what they may over a good period of time. Would sweat glands be porous enough to allow a suction via vacuum from the body then boiling off due to the low pressure? It’d be the exact same mechanism as sweat, though automatically done by vacuum rather than by secretions. If so, the temp would drop down a lot faster. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515/20 "2008-12-12T05:24:05Z")
It should be noted that “space is cold” only applies far away from any stars. If you were left in Earth orbit, then you’d receive heat from the Sun, and settle in to about the same average temperature as the Earth itself (which after all, is also floating in space). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-and-decay/476515.md?page=2)