In Space, why do astronaughts move in slow motion? I mean there's no FRICTION so why is this??

Question

Is it just a falacy perpertraited by movies?

Also, if one where able to hold their breath in space without a suit, could u survive exposure to space for say a minute, then go back inside the ship and be relatively "ok" ??

Answer 1

Wow, everyone who has answered your question so far is completely wrong on whether or not you would survive in the vacuum of space for any period of time.

Anyways, being in space does not rid the astronaut of friction. Friction is caused when molecules rub together. They still experience friction due to the air in the shuttle, their clothes, and even their own skin rubbing against itself. The reason the move in "slow motion" is because a quick movement one way or the other will cause their entire body to move that direction.

If you were to step in to the vacuum of space unprotected, you would not die instantly. Your blood would not boil, you would not expolde, you would not instantly freeze to death, and solar radiation would not instantly kill you. The limits of how long a person can survive without protection in outer space are not really known, but it can be said that you would likely survive out there as long as you would anywhere else without breathable air.

Answer 2

They move slow because there is no resistance from gravity to their motion. Everything they do is relative to something else - turn a screw and the astronaut spins in the opposite direction. Screw up from moving to fast and you are not going to make it back to the ship. Sure, there are rocket packs and what not, but they need fuel which is limited

Yes, it is possible to survive in vacuum. You have to exhale completely first, but your blood won't boil instantly nor will you freeze or be cooked by radiation or anything else. You have a very short time and an embolism is the most dangerous thing, but they don't happen immediately. Its like getting a case of the bends (nitrogen bubbles forming in the blood as a result of surfacing too fast when breathing pressurized air). You won't simply explode like a balloon though.

You won't be able to help yourself for more than a few seconds, but help comes to you, you can survive for longer than a minute with immediate re-compression.

Answer 3

Astronauts do not move in slow motion in space. I think what you are referring to is videos of astronauts moonwalking or space walking. In this case, the effects of gravity are far less than they are on earth, so they are literally jumping higher and falling more slowly, which looks unnatural to us on earth and I guess could be interpreted as moving more slowly!!

As for the holding your breath thing, that would be the least of your worries. Beyond the lack of oxygen, your lungs would basically explode just due to the lack of external pressure.

THEN your blood would boil and vaporize within your body along with any other liquids, including the water in your brain, eyes, heart, and other organs...again, due to the lack of pressure.

Direct exposure to the sun's UV rays without an atmosphere to deflect any of it would mean your skin would bake like a turkey, while you freeze to death at the same time from the lack of a medium (like air) to trap the sun's heat.

So, lack of oxygen would be the least of your worries. The Web site I found DID say that it would take about 10 seconds for all of these things to start happening, and it would then take about 90 full seconds for you to die, so you'd get to experience about 80 seconds of the most excruciating pain imaginable.

Go try it out!!

Answer 4

Your lungs could explode if you tried to hold your breath in. They have the surface area of a tennis court. DON'T hold your breath! It'll come out whether you want it too or not.

And get back inside! Quickly! You have 6 seconds of panicked scurrying to get back in atmosphere before you black-out. And calm down! You might last more than 10 seconds that way.

Note: You are not brain-damaged until at least 1/2 to 1 minute without oxygen. You'll be unconcious though. You won't die. Your saliva and tears will boil.



They move slowly probably because their life-supporting suits weight 300 pounds and are stiff. It's also a bad idea to make any sudden movements in space. Do you want to fly off?

Answer 5

I think the reason astronauts move so slowly is that their suits are very bulky, preventing fast movements, and because sudden movements could make them (the astronauts) go shooting off in various directions.

I've read somewhere that a person, if they acclimized to low pressure, 0.25 atm I think the example was, could step outside a space craft for a short period of time - a minute - and live. Also, they would have to be in shade from the sun, since there would be no atmosphere to protect them from the radiation. Has anyone read about this?

Answer 6

Within the vacuum of space, liquids would instantly flash into vapor. Warm blood in a human body exposed to vacuum would also flash into vapor bubbles with no external pressure available to keep them compressed. Astronauts practice space walks and repair procedures under water so that they are 'weightless' and that makes movements slow. Slow also prevents some errors including torn suits that would not be a good thing. Slow movement should also help with balance where there is no gravitational force to help with orientation. Jump of a cliff and there is only one way to go; down!

Answer 7

Newton's third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That's how it works. The action of a rocket engine causes a reaction by speeding it up. The power of the engine needs to overcome the mass of the rocket. A hypothetical asteroid would be more massive than a human pushing it. The effect on the asteroid would be negligible, but our friend would go flying away.

Answer 8

They are not moving in slow motion. Since there is no friction, every movement results in an opposite movement. It they moved rapidly, they would start to spin.
Also, spacesuits have mass, even when weightless. They must push against this mass, which slows their movement.
Holding one's breath in space would do no good. Space is a near-vacuum, so the pressure inside your body would force itself out, in a violent explosion.

Answer 9

OK space is called a vacumm. There is no air no life Nada nothing! And it is so cold in space that if you didn't have a protective suit on A) you will freeze to death in an instantly. And there is also no gravity up in space so you are defying the laws of physics.

Answer 10

I think they move slowly on purpose. Any sudden extreme movements in microgravity could be bad as there's nothing to stop you (e.g. gravity). You just go flying in whatever direction you were going.

No, if you got blown out into space w/out a suit, you'd be toast. Your blood would begin to boil almost immediately -- no atmospheric pressure to keep gasses in your blood. It would also either be really cold (absolute zero) or really hot (several hundred degrees in the sun). Either way, it wouldn't be a pretty sight.