What happens if someone dies in space as 'stranded' NASA astronauts' return to earth sparks major questions

The return of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore has sparked a lot of interest in the nature of space travel – arguably more so than usual, as theirs was no usual mission.

After all, the duo were only due to be in space for a week or so, but their trip was unexpectedly extended by several months thanks to technical issues.

Many of us have found ourselves asking questions around how it all works, and there’s one particularly morbid topic that’s come up: what happens to someone’s body if they die while on a mission?

It’s certainly a dark topic, but one that the experts at NASA obviously have to think about.

In short, it depends on the circumstances – has someone died while on board the International Space Station, for instance, or during a trip outside?

Butch Wilmore inside the International Space Station (Instagram/@iss)

According to Chris Hadfield, astronaut and former commander of the ISS, the agency has to run ‘death simulations’ to ensure it has plans in place in the event of death in space.

“We have these things called ‘contingency simulations’ where we discuss what to do with the body,” he told Popular Science.

However, NASA told the outlet that it ‘does not prepare contingency plans for all remote risks’.

"NASA’s response to any unplanned on-orbit situation will be determined in a real time collaborative process between the Flight Operations Directorate, Human Health and Performance Directorate, NASA leadership, and our International Partners,” it said.

Hadfield continued: “If someone died while on an EVA [Extravehicular Activity - any activity performed by an astronaut outside their spacecraft] I would bring them inside the airlock first.

“I would probably keep them inside their pressurized suit; bodies actually decompose faster in a spacesuit, and we don’t want the smell of rotting meat or off gassing, it’s not sanitary. So we would keep them in their suit and store it somewhere cold on the station.”

In his book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life, he also sets the scene a little further with a hypothetical situation.

Sunita Williams during an extravehicular activity (NASA)

He wrote: “Mission control: ‘we’ve just received word from the Station: Chris is dead.’ Immediately, people start working the problem. Okay, what are we going to do with his corpse? There are no body bags on Station, so should we shove it in a spacesuit and stick it in a locker? But what about the smell? Should we send it back to Earth on a resupply ship and let it burn up with the rest of the garbage on re-entry? Jettison it during a spacewalk and let it float away into space?”

When asked about the protocol about what happens if an astronaut becomes unwell or dies in space, a spokesperson for NASA told LADbible Group: “All astronauts undergo medical training and have regular contact with a team of doctors closely monitoring their health on the ground.

“NASA also maintains a robust pharmacy and a suite of medical equipment onboard the space station to treat various conditions and injuries.

“If a medical emergency requires a return to Earth, the crew will return in the spacecraft they launched aboard to receive urgent medical care on the ground.”

The spokesperson added: “Astronauts also train on the ground pre-flight to prepare for emergencies on the space station, and they also perform refresher training on orbit in the real space station environment.

“Scenarios trained include responses to fire, depressurization, atmospheric contamination, and sheltering in place during late notification of nearby micrometeor orbital debris.”