5 ms·
Death in Space
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- edge17 16y agowhere is that background image from?
- wazoox 16y agoI find quite absurd the concept of bringing back home the explorer's dead body. Seamen traditionally are buried at sea, it seems quite obvious that the right thing to do for a space explorer is to be made a permanent asteroid.
- Tichy 16y agoRationally it doesn't make a difference, but if buried at sea, your body can be absorbed by earth and become part of the next cycle of life.
- ZenzerNet 16y agoHad it been me, I'd prefer to be shot into space. In a zillion years, there's a miniscule chance to be discovered by another species. In the at least, I'll eventually turn into stardust and become part of another cycle of magnificient mystery in the universe. Isn't that thought more tantalizing than being buried on Earth?
- Tichy 16y agoNot sure, is there actually a cycle in the universe (don't know what the latest theory is).? I suppose if a body in space becomes stardust eventually, so will the whole earth. So either way you end up as stardust.
- dalore 16y agoAll the planets and stars that you see in the sky (and earth) where made from spacedust. So yes you would be part of the cycle of the universe, possibly even creating new life :) Who knows, perhaps we were created from some dead aliens shot into space.
- secret 16y agoI think that actually happens in one of the sequels to 2001, but my memory is fuzzy about it.
- rbanffy 16y agoThe problem then is that, while a dead seamen doesn't pose a threat to the ship, in the case of a dead astronaut, you must be sure the body's trajectory won't intersect your own at any significant speed.
- JoeAltmaier 16y agoIt cannot intersect your own at significant speed, unless you expend significant energy to diverge your trajectory. Otherwise it simply continues to accompany you at some slightly varying distance.
- khafra 16y agoMakes looking out the window slightly disturbing.
- rbanffy 16y agoUnless the body passes by a big mass and gets accelerated in your direction. The last thing you need for the morale of the crew is to have your fellow shipmate splattered on your windshield. The odds are low, but it's worth the care.
- wlievens 16y agoSpace is really, really, really big.
- prodigal_erik 16y agoSeems a shame to deliberately destroy the frozen body, when there are people back on earth paying to be vitrified and kept artificially frozen for a chance (however small) of resurrection. And I would think an explorer would prefer a tombstone as a last mark on the new world.
- patio11 16y agoThere is nothing on Mars worth dying for. Build the lander if you must, let the defense contractors collect their contracts, then blow it up on the launchpad. All objectives accomplished, everyone goes home to their families.
- tomjen3 16y agoThere may not be much on Mars worth dying for for you, but there are people who have died for a lot less glory than landing on a new planet. Let each choose his own.
- patio11 16y agoI'd be more sympathetic if I didn't have to pay for them to die gloriously. Not much more sympathetic, granted.
- tomjen3 16y agoIt seems wrong to return the body - wouldn't it be better to bury it where it died (if on Mars) or send it into space ala Star Trek (complete with bagpipes). That would have been my choice anyway.
- pascalchristian 16y agoReminds me of this proposal: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/669/1 http://www.thespacereview.com/article/669/1 One man, one way to Mars. There's no need to carry a body then.
- jiganti 16y agoI'm surprised that anyone willing to risk a mission to mars wouldn't be satisfied with the glory alone of attempting such a mission. I suppose the religious reasons are what would motivate people to want this.
- tdfx 16y agoI'm always amazed at the amount of thought that people seem to put into the handling of their bodies after they're dead. Elaborate rituals and strange requests that provide no benefit to them and only seem to inconvenience the people who are in fact still alive.
- mfukar 16y agoPosthumous fame: we all want it, always did, always will.
- joshuacc 16y agoThis makes sense in many religious contexts. For instance, traditional Christianity asserts belief in the "resurrection of the body." This implies that the body isn't a mere shell to be cast off, but is actually part of what made the person who they are, and is worthy of respect. Thus you have saints relics in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. I assume that other religions offer explanatory contexts for their rituals as well. These may or not make sense when transferred to a modern secular society.
- allenp 16y agoI think it is important to note that ceremonial burial was practiced by archaic secular societies as well - including Neanderthals. I think that we need some sort of group activity to help us transition to new situations - ie graduations, weddings, funerals, in Japan there are now wedding-like ceremonies for divorce with both families attending. I think at its basic level there is something along these lines: change is uncertain, the group is here to witness the change and the group is not startled, I'm ok because the group is ok.
- DanielBMarkham 16y agoI certainly hope we're not spending a lot of money on death-in-space scenarios. Wrap the body up, strap a 4-kilo rocket on it, say some nice words, and off she goes. No new technology or engineering required. Unfair question, but it's how I feel: Does NASA always have to have some great new over-engineered plan for every little new thing they come across?
- billswift 16y agoOf course they do. NASA doesn't actually do anything but make plans any more - so the more elaborate and wasteful their plan-making is, the more money they can try to claim from congress.
- pclark 16y agoThis doesn't seem any more over engineered than the US Military philosophy of always recovering fallen soldiers and bringing them home. (I like it)
- dalore 16y agoYou might want to reclaim the bodies water first, ala Dune.
- sprout 16y agoThis could actually be useful for a mission to Mars. Every bit of biomass available for a biodome (if such a thing could be maintained) would be vital.
- jdietrich 16y agoI think the author is underestimating the psychology of astronauts. We often think of them as some kind of scientist or explorer but in fact they are an elite military force, made up of the sort of men that we would expect to fly dangerously unpredictable test aircraft. Anyone being sent into space is well aware that they have about a one-in-twenty chance of not coming back. They are selected and trained on the understanding that if they become unwell in space, they could jeopardise the lives of their fellow crewmen. Repatriation of remains is an unaffordable luxury in space and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. No-one with the constitution to be an astronaut would allow their own death to hamper a mission. As to whether Mars is worth dying for - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/390933.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/390933.stm