- [Narrator] On July 21st, 1969,
the Apollo 11 lunar landing crew.
- That's one small step for man.
- [Narrator] Was due to depart the moon's surface
after a 22 hour visit.
- One giant leap for mankind.
- [Narrator] A speech had been prepared
for President Richard Nixon titled,
"In the Event of Moon Disaster,"
it read, "Fate has ordained that the men
who went to the moon to explore in peace
will stay on the moon to rest peace"
Said another way, marooned, stranded
because landing on the moon was one thing,
(gentle music)
getting off was something else entirely.
Would Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong
live out the rest of their days
staring at the blue glow of Earth from 250,000 miles away?
And what if they did?
(gentle music)
Of the more than 550 people we've sent into the cosmos,
just 21 have died
and only 3 actually above the boundary
between Earth and space
since humankind first took
to strapping ourselves to rockets.
When there have been fatalities,
the entire crew has been lost,
leaving no one to rescue.
But as we move closer to a human mission to Mars,
there's a higher likelihood
that individuals could be stranded or even perish
whether that's on the way,
while living in harsh environments,
or at some other point of the mission.
The International Space Station
is one place to look to as a model.
A death among that crew
would likely result from an accident during a spacewalk.
Maybe suddenly you get hit by a micrometeorite,
then there's a hole in your suit.
Well, this hypothetical astronaut
would only have about 15 seconds
until they lost consciousness.
Before they froze, they would most likely die
from asphyxiation or decompression.
10 seconds of exposure to the vacuum of space
would force the water in their skin and blood to vaporize,
while their body expanded outward like a balloon.
Their lungs would collapse,
and after 30 seconds they would be paralyzed
if they weren't already dead.
A corpse in space presents some major logistical problems.
The fact that a dead body is a biohazard
is definitely the biggest concern,
and finding the space to store it in is a close second.
The crew of the ISS already stores trash
in the coldest spot on the station;
it keeps the bacteria away and makes smell less of an issue.
For this reason, a dead astronaut would likely be held here
or an airlock until a seat was available
on a return trip to Earth.
What if you're millions of miles from anywhere,
en route to Mars,
and storage of a deceased astronaut isn't an option?
In theory, you could always jettison them out
on a forever path into the void, right?
One problem of physics though,
unless a mini rocket was strapped to the body,
they would end up following the trajectory
of the spacecraft.
As the years went on and the bodies accumulated,
that would make for a morbid trip.
But the risks of dying along the way
are nothing compared to dying once you get there.
In promoting his own future space settlement plans,
SpaceX's Elon Musk has openly cautioned that, quote,
"If you want to go to Mars, prepare to die."
Which begs the question,
if lives are lost on the Red Planet,
where do you put the bodies?
Could they just be buried there?
That makes sense because of the long journey back,
but it poses potential contamination problems.
Even the Mars rovers are required by law
not to bring Earth microbes to their new planet.
Spacecraft are repeatedly cleaned and sanitized
before launch to help prevent potentially habitable locales
from being overtaken by intrepid microorganisms.
But the bugs on a rover are nothing
compared to the bacteria hitching a ride on a dead body.
So, if a Martian burial were to happen,
it would have to require cremation.
(gentle music)
NASA never officially published a contingency plan
for the Apollo moon-walkers in 1969,
but they were prepared to lose the crew.
If things went sideways,
they planned to shut down communication
with the stranded astronauts
and issue them a formal burial at sea.
In reality, starvation or, unfortunately, suicide
would have been the cause of death.
But even given that morbid hypothetical turn of events,
everyone knew we would keep trying.
Quote, "Others will follow, and surely find their way home."
Nixon's back-up speech read.
"Man's search will not be denied.
But these men were the first,
and they will remain the foremost in our hearts."
As for future Mars missions,
climbing Mount Everest provides the perfect Earthly analogy,
more than 200 bodies lay across the mountain,
some of them still visible on days when snow cover is light.
Everyone who climbs past is reminded
that they're risking their lives.
Indeed, going to Mars is a risk.
But, that's part of exploring space.
(gentle music)