How Long Would a Person Survive on the Moon Without a Spacesuit?

Not that such a thing could ever happen, but what if an astronaut does indeed find himself naked outside the spaceship? – The good news is that he won’t swell up until he explodes, as is commonly thought after watching some science fiction movies.

What if you didn’t wear a spacesuit in space?

Let’s start with the fact that in space, there is no air pressure to envelop the body like on Earth.

In the absence of air pressure, anything that can get out of the astronaut’s body will escape immediately. Air in the lungs, for example, will be immediately expelled through the mouth and nose.

And if he forgot to go to the bathroom before jumping out of the spaceship, then …. It’s not pleasant to admit, but your insides are also immediately emptied. At least he doesn’t smell it, because he can’t breathe.

Also, we wouldn’t advise an astronaut without a spacesuit to hold his breath like we’re used to doing underwater.

Why? Because in the dreaded battle between the lungs that enclose the air and the vacuum of outer space… the vacuum will win. That is, the lungs will swell from within and burst.

Search and rescue in space

Surprisingly, you can save an astronaut who is ejected into space if you do it very quickly.

Although he will lose consciousness within 15 seconds, it can be said from the experiments conducted by scientists in an environment devoid of atmospheric pressure that the poor astronaut will most likely survive if he is picked up in the spacecraft within one and a half to three minutes.

The body of Jim LeBlanc was exposed to a vacuum during an experiment due to a malfunction in his spacesuit. As he recounts, just before he lost consciousness, saliva began bubbling in his mouth, which also happened to the blood in his arteries due to the lack of air pressure. But within 25 seconds, the experiment team was able to save him. 

In space, he probably had to wait a little longer. And as body fluids evaporate, the body begins to swell. It might even swell to twice its original size. But it wouldn’t explode. 

Of course, that’s very little consolation, considering that his body will float forever in space.