Everyone knows that the body of a dead person changes over time. These changes begin immediately after death and become more evident with each passing hour. But how does the process of decomposition take place in space, where conditions are radically different from those on Earth?
Decay on Earth
Under normal conditions, changes in the body begin with the appearance of pallor, and then cyanosis, which is associated with the cessation of filling large and small vessels with blood. When the heart stops functioning, gravity begins to control fluids in the body - they accumulate in the lower part of the corpse. Blood, falling down, causes the appearance of cadaveric spots.
After a certain time, rigor mortis sets in - the muscles lose their elasticity and become hard like wood. The body cools down and the change in its temperature depends on the surrounding conditions, the fat content in the tissues, the presence of drugs, alcohol and drugs in the body.
By comparing the signs of decomposition with the factors acting on a dead body, pathologists determine the time and even place of a person's death. Various bacteria play a huge role in changing the corpse, first destroying the internal organs.
The body retains its shape as long as the skin contains the products of putrefaction, and when the skin collapses, it becomes difficult to identify the corpse. Needless to say, these processes are accompanied by a terrible smell.
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People have come up with many ways to slow down or even stop decomposition processes for a certain time. The simplest of them is freezing, and the more complex is different types of embalming. They preserve corpses for different purposes - to examine, transport, or to allow relatives to say goodbye to the deceased.
Decomposition in space
In space, everything happens very differently. Several scenarios are possible, how the body will change over time. Consider a situation where the body, for some reason, ended up in open space without a spacesuit. If an internal or external source of heat does not act on the corpse, then it will very quickly freeze through and through.
Today science cannot say for sure how long the body can be in such conditions without changes. It is possible that it will drift in airless space forever if it is not attracted to a planet or a star. In this case, thermal radiation or radiation can heat the body and after that it will change beyond recognition or completely collapse.
It is quite another matter if a heat source acts on the corpse. For example, if the deceased will be in the outer layer of the atmosphere. There, the body may heat up, but not to such an extent that it burns. The corpse becomes dehydrated and begins to resemble jerky, and the rarefied environment sterilizes it. Since microorganisms play a key role in the decomposition process, it is quite possible that the body can be in orbit for many years without undergoing any special changes.
If the body is in a spacesuit, then it is important whether the heating works. If so, the body will begin to decompose internally as long as the bacteria-friendly temperature is maintained. If there is no heat source, then the spacesuit will not in any way affect the safety of the tissues and the corpse will freeze through and through as if it were without it.
Let us clarify that this is just a theory, but how the decomposition processes will proceed is actually very difficult to say. A huge number of factors that cannot always be predicted can make their own adjustments.