If you were dead and your casket was floating in space would you decompose?

Answer 1

Hi. Only if there were bacteria and the temperature and moisture could support them.

Answer 2

I am led to believe not possible. In my Ag class for meats judging was taught that rigurmortus occurs not when the meat is frozen. In space, a casket would more than likely not be tight enough to keep the outside from the inside.

This means because in space things that are exposed freeze. If the body was in a frozen state, the body could not decompose. Some are answering suggesting that if moisture and heat were in the casket it would decompose. The conditions of space would not allow this. Also, bugs and bacteria could not live in space.

But, if the casket was airtight, bacteria was places in the casket and a heat source were inside the casket, decomposition would be possible.

The two most important things for decomposition are as follows:
Heat
Bacteria. bugs, etc.

Answer 3

Space-burial and *You*.

A production of the United States Government.







We all want to know what will happen to our bodies in space and this here film will help in the planning process.

Let's say you're cheap, and cannot afford a high orbit, or just like this planet so much you never want to leave it. Well, in low-earth orbit your casket will likely decay, eventually sending your beloved cremains gently scattering into the air, after a 5,000 degree fireball in which everything vaporizes. Happy re-entries!

For this reason regulations prohibit low-earth space burial above 200 km or in a fortified casket ( Norman, Oklahoma Ballistic Casket Incident, 2036)


If you prefer a slightly higher final resting place then you may be parked in any of the approved cemetary orbits encircling the equator, available from 50,000 km up.

There you will stay up for millenia, slowly decaying per Earth-like orbit conditions discussed later.


If you are placed in an approved rotting orbit, then you will decompose, but only in an IACA-approved modern airtightened rad-hardened casket, filled with wet atmosphere.
This orbit is slightly closer than Earth's, due to the fact that Earth would be -10ºC without an atmosphere. Caskets are spun to ensure even heat distribution.


But wait, beware of air-filled coffins! Oftentimes a large enough meteoroid will eventually come along, and break the seal! We are *not* responsible for exploding coffins. Either get spacecraft grade front-window glass, or accept the eventuality.

That's why we reccomend equalizing the pressure of the modern airtight coffins. This can be done in the airlock or by remote control. Go do it, do it now! Pressure differences are just a f**king waiting to happen.

Unfortunately, over several dozen million years your coffin will be eaten away from micrometeoroid impacts, eventually becoming dust, which may orbit the Sun in an ever more expanding stream.
Oh who are we kidding, your perfectly preserved corpse will be dissected by archeology students in the 20030s.



How about solar burial, everyone wants to be plasmatized?

Well sunnic burial is more expensive than usual the slow interstellar, due to the delta-v required to make you fall into the solar body, however, you'll become incandescent.




Now, on to the champagne of space burials -- Galactic Orbit.

Your body will be enplaned on a starship or interstellar freighter, where a chaplain will be available to perform the service.

Once far enough away from the gravitational influences of stars your body shall be released in interstellar space, orbiting the galaxy for billions of years.

You will likely remain preserved, though freeze-dried at near absolute zero forever, whether in a traditional wooden casket or not.

But you already paid USD 100.000m for this, might as well get the snazzy silica carbon glass-lithanium casket. One-quarter tonnes of pure cool!

Answer 4

Depends....

If the casket was air tight, you would rot IF you were close enough to a source of light to heat up to a range that will support microbial life, but not so close as to get too high in temperature so as to kill all bacteria and molds and fungus that are living on and in everyone.

Most likely you would freeze solid since space is near absolute zero in temperature...or overheat and cook. That's a nice image...

Get hot enough and both you and the casket would vaporize...but not burn, because that would require oxygen. In either extreme, you would not decompose because you're either too cold or too hot to support life.

If the casket was not air tight you would desiccate...loose all moisture in your body and depending on how close you are to a source of heat, either freeze-dry or heat-dry.

Since all living things...including bacteria and etc need moisture, you would not decompose. Considering that you are about 80% water, you'd be a pretty strange sight.

Answer 5

It all depends on where you float. If you are close enough to a star or the sun, you would receive enough solar radiation to either be parched or entirely dehydrate to a corpse-like state, but the further drifting away from those heat sources would lead you to be cryonically preserved, since a theoretical temperature of space lyes close to or at absolute zero (-460 F, -273 C degrees).

Answer 6

Bacteria that causes decomposition could not survive.
Moisture would evaporate leaving a leathery carcass enzymes that break down protein would no doubt contribute to the final result.
You could dangle it out on Halloween and get a good reaction!

Answer 7

It would be the same as on the ground. The local gravity has negligible effect on decomposition.

Answer 8

you could end up like the egyptions as a mummy

Answer 9

no first of all theres no oxogen and micro organism cant thrive in that envirement.