My friend keeps asking everyone this question because she really wants to know. She thinks so, but I keep telling her that if it were that easy, somebody would have tried it, and that enough oxygen couldn't possibly be produced fast enough for the human.
2007-06-01 11:46:02 · 10 answers · asked by . 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I say no. I doubt a tree could survive in space, but even if it could, the space in outer space is so vast that trees couldn't possibly produce enough oxygen.
2007-06-01 11:54:12 · answer #1 · answered by mx3baby 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, space is a vacuum, and even if the tree could produce enough oxygen for the person to breathe (it CAN"T), there would be no atmosphere to keep the oxygen by the person, and she would suffocate (as well as other unpleasant things that happen when you are in a vacuum unprotected)
Now, if you perhaps qualify this with, if there were a forest of trees in an enclosed space station, would you be able to breathe then? And the answer to that would be yes....if you bring enough earth-air to breathe along with it (you don't only need oxygen....there is soooo much more in our air than that!)
2007-06-01 12:24:03 · answer #2 · answered by Delynn 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trees like all plants have cells. The cells are bordered by a cellulose wall. If the pressure that would explode a human cell were exerted against the plant cell it too would explode, the pressure inside the cell trying to equalize with the lack of pressure on the outside.
Also plants "breathe" carbon-dioxide. There is not carbon-dioxide available in space.
A tree would also need moisture to live. Any moisture in space turns immediately to ice. Have you ever tried sipping an ice cube through a straw? Same thing would happen in space,
So to directly answer your question, no a tree would not survive in space. I may survive in an environment such as a space station in zero gravity. These experiments have been done on ISS.
2007-06-01 15:05:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anthony W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes and No! First the no... besides the fact that space is a vacuum, has a temperature near absolute zero, has deadly solar radiation, and no gravity, plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen using a process that involves the sun as well. Now for the yes part... if we were to build a space station that could support plant life, then yes we could use trees and or plants to recycle our breath (carbon dioxide) into breathable oxygen. This has been part of the space program for a long time, and has been the basis of many bio-dome experiments. Your friend is sorta right, but the plants need air in order to start the process. But one tree wouldn't do it!
2007-06-01 12:03:10 · answer #4 · answered by Tavo McDouglas 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is true that you would need alot more than one tree in order to have enough oxygen converted to breathe. For one, the tree would have to be inside a capsule, such as a spacecraft of space station. However, once you had about 10 trees as well as some grass, and better yet, algae in a pond, you would have enough oxygen to breathe, but you would still have to recycle the air. It is a good idea, and would be an important part of any space colony, but it is nowhere near possible to be unprotected in the vacuum of space with a tree!!:)
2007-06-01 11:58:59 · answer #5 · answered by North_Star 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In regards to your question about taking a tree into space to help you breathe...
It is not really practical to package a tree inside of a space suit, or two trees, or three trees, or four trees, until you get enough trees in there to provide you with sufficient oxygen
to sustain life. I am all ears, listening to what you plan to do
with the dirt and water each tree needs to live? Was the
dirt supposed to go into the astronaut's boots? Can you
envision slogging around on the surface of some planet,
or working outside the space ship with two or three trees
inside of your space suit, and a pile of dirt in each boot?
what happens to the need to bend over? Bending might be
a bit hard with a tree alongside your waist, leg, and torso.
2007-06-01 12:45:31 · answer #6 · answered by zahbudar 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with your opinion. Trees need carbon dioxide to produce oxygen and they only produce a certain amount of oxygen even with the carbon dioxide, and that wouldn't be nearly enough to sustain human life just by itself. Also, it's been proven that only Earth is capable of providing life and that would include plants. So the plant would need to have some necessities to survive also. It wouldn't survive just out in space would out the sun, water, or CO2.
2007-06-01 11:57:44 · answer #7 · answered by Shelby 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it don't produce enough Air to breath for one person if they where on a shuttle.
2007-06-01 15:59:19 · answer #8 · answered by Justin L 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if ur age is more then 10
u must be some kinda retarded kid:)
2007-06-01 15:08:30 · answer #9 · answered by Morpheus 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no,it would not be possible
2007-06-03 06:25:37 · answer #10 · answered by capricorn-saturn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋