While America’s space program has endured several tragedies, no mission has left the remains of a lost astronaut floating in the final frontier. NASA is understandably prepared if that worst-case scenario ever arises. The agency organized protocols if an astronaut were to die on the International Space Station, a 450-ton web of metal tubes swirling around the planet in the inhospitable vacuum of space.
NASA’s current ISS death procedures revolve around a modified military-grade body called the Human Remains Containment Unit (HRCU). According to Scientific American, the grim piece of equipment was brought to the station in 2012. Like how morgues on terra firma rely on refrigeration to slow human decomposition, the HRCU would be integrated into the refrigeration system on the ISS if used and stored in a non-pressurized area. This is in addition to an absorbent lining and screw-on charcoal filter canisters. The goal was to give NASA Flight Directors a 72-hour window to decide their course of action.
A burial-in-space isn’t an ideal option at the moment
Without a medical examiner, NASA trains its crews to conduct In-Mission Forensic Sample Collection. The surviving astronauts would photograph the body, then collect samples of hair, tissue, blood and other fluids while on the worst telemecidine call of all time with NASA’s flight surgeons.
What would happen next? There would be a simple ceremony to allow the crew the opportunity to grieve. NASA would then likely return an astronaut’s remains to Earth. The HRCU features straps on its corners to loop through a spacecraft’s seat restraints. The agency could task astronauts to put the remains in their departed colleague’s seat. For a death on the ISS, a traditional burial-at-sea wouldn’t be a preferred option because the station could encounter the corpse during a future orbit. However, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for a future deep-space mission to reenact Spock’s funeral during “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”
The wider impact of a death in space
NASA’s death protocol isn’t solely out of respect for the deceased astronaut and the mental well-being of the surviving crew, but for society at large. When tragedy strikes the space program, it impacts the general public. The death of the entire Apollo 1 crew during a rehearsal nearly ended the lunar program before it left the ground.
The reaction to Apollo 1 served as the impetus for the White House to make preparations of its own. Bill Safire, President Richard Nixon’s speechwriter, prepared a speech in case disaster struck Apollo 11 in 1969. The never-delivered public address to eulogize Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin began with the line, “Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.”
While Armstrong and Aldrin touched down on the Moon and safely returned, NASA hasn’t escaped tragedy since Apollo 11. The Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger were lost with all hands at launch and reentry, respectively. Each disaster was viewed as a national tragedy. With the rise of commercial spaceflight and space programs in other countries, a death in orbit could be perceived as a workplace accident.