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What happens if someone dies in space?
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this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2023
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I think I've read that the 'blood boiling' trope is overstated. Only fluids in direct contact with your environment would boil off, but the blood within the body would earlier freeze than boil.
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/91215/how-does-blood-saliva-boil-in-outer-space
It would mostly depend on whether you were in shade or in sunlight, and how far away from the Sun.
In Earth orbit, the raw energy from the Sun is about 1kW/m², which with a radiance similar to that of Earth, would leave a body at around average Earth temperature, or something like 14C... except the sunward side would end up charred, while the starward part kind of frozen.
But, here comes the fun part: a body would likely be rotating, like a slow roast, followed by freezing, breaking of blood vessels, then thawing, bubbling out, freezing, thawing, and so on, and on, and on.
Not sure if anyone has run the exact numbers as to what would it look like precisely, but my initial guess is "less than pleasant".
Hah!
Indeed, circumstances matter, but the process would be not as dramatic as often portrayed. The instant boiling blood on contact with the vacuum is a myth. It wouldn't be pleasant, but not very violent.
After all, the pressure difference is about one bar. Deep sea structural collapse is way more dramatic than the same thing happening in space.