By Sheharyar 
Houston sending human beings to space is undoubtedly an immensely difficult and perilous endeavor. Over the last 60 years of human space exploration, 20 individuals have lost their lives – 14 in the tragic NASA space shuttle accidents of 1986 and 2003, three cosmonauts during the 1971 Soyuz 11 mission, and three astronauts in the Apollo 1 launch pad fire in 1967.
Considering the complexities of human spaceflight, it is remarkable that the number of casualties has remained relatively low. However, NASA’s plans to send crews to the Moon in 2025 and astronauts to Mars within the next decade, along with the growing routine of commercial spaceflight, raise the likelihood of potential fatalities.
what happens to the body?
Death in Space: The Lunar and Martian Scenarios
As a space medical doctor working to ensure astronauts’ health during space missions, my team at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health strives to keep space explorers as healthy as possible. Presently, if someone dies during a low-Earth-orbit mission, such as on the International Space Station, the crew can promptly return the body to Earth within hours, thanks to well-established protocols.
On the Moon, the crew could return home with the deceased within a few days. NASA has already devised detailed procedures for such occurrences. Given the swift return in these cases, NASA’s primary concern would likely be ensuring the safe return of the remaining crew to Earth, rather than preserving the body.
The circumstances would be different if an astronaut were to pass away during the 300 million-mile journey to Mars. In such a scenario, turning back would not be feasible, and the body would likely return to Earth along with the crew at the end of the mission, which could be a couple of years later. the crew would presumably preserve the body in a separate chamber or a specialized body bag, with the stable temperature and humidity inside the spacecraft theoretically aiding preservation.
However, it’s important to note that these scenarios pertain only to fatalities occurring in pressurized environments like space stations or spacecraft.