Do you decompose in space?

[Al B. Sure!]

I mean there's no bacteria or anything out there so if someone died out in space or on another planet, would they never be worn down?


(random question I was wondering )

[General Ludd]

no, you freeze.

EDIT: If it wheren't for freezing... I think they probably would decompose. Although there is no bacteria in space, there's a hell of a lot of it in our bodies. But I'm no expert.

[Elok]

I imagine that, if you weren't scattered to bits by explosive decompression, the unshielded radiation and accumulated hits from passing rubble would get you pretty roughed up sooner or later, bacteria or no.

[yavoon]

even bacteria needs oxygen. my guess is hell no.

[Skanky Burns]

Thats assuming you don't get pulled into the gravity well of a larger object.

[Felch]

There are anaerobic bacteria.

[Gibsie]

I doubt they would be able to function with the pressure differential.

[GePap]

No bacteria earthly bacteria could survive the intense, totally unshielded cosmic radiation, plus the temp is only a few degrees above absolute zero. Your body and anyting in it would be frozne utterly. The chances of anyting subtantial hitting somthign as small as a human body as microscopic. Over time, the effects of radiation and impact with very small bits of matter would break the body down, probably in a few millenia, unless the body did get pulled by gravity into somewhere with an atmosphere.

[jdd2007]

you are vaporized. no, really.

[monolith94]

The radiation would break up your body, and I'd guess that it would take a significantly shorter time than GePap says.

Planning a 'unique' funeral, Speer?

[vovan]

I actually agree with jdd here. Well, not vapourized per se, but I'm thinking you would just instantly get blown apart by the internal pressure. There would be no body to break down, just thousands of tiny particles... Then again, I'm no expert either, so....

[BustaMike]

Don't forget that before you freeze you'd probably explode pretty good from the decompression .

[yavoon]

I thot event horizon had an accurate depiction of zero atmosphere things?

)(*#@ its such a talked about thing u'd think someone would know!

[Vince278]

The effects of the vacuum of space on the body are vastly over-rated. The only explosions, if any, would come from trapped gasses. There may be some disruption at the cell level but it would be tough to tell that from the damage caused by being flash-frozen (which would stop most explosions anyway). The body would resemble something freeze dried. Then the body would be slowly sand blasted away by solar and other particles and/or fall into a gravity well. I'm willing to bet the gravity well would get you before the sand blasting is done.

[The Mad Monk]

You're all forgetting the impact of nearby stars -- say, the sun, in an orbit resembling Earth's. If you are not shieled from the star (being in something's shadow is enough), the IR would crisp you pretty fast.