Whether you die on a long journey, lose you grip during a spacewalk (a la Gravity), or simply take the plunge into the vacuum without a spacesuit… what would happen? If an astronaut dies from heart attack, stroke, or other natural causes, the rest of the crew will then have to deal with a dead body. What happens to the unprotected human body in space? Astronaut fatalities (In the statistics below, "astronaut" is applied to all space travellers to avoid the use of "astronaut/cosmonaut".) I am sure that almost everyone, at some point in their lives, has thought what happens when an astronaut dies in space. As of February 2020, in-flight accidents have killed 19 astronauts, in five separate incidents. We’ve lost only 18 people in space—including 14 NASA astronauts—since humankind first took to strapping ourselves to rockets. Three of them had flown above the Kármán line, and one was intended to do so.In each case, the entire crew was killed. Well you are going to get your answer in this article, but let me warn you, this answer might come as a big surprise to you. April 28, 2016 NASA is known to be one of the most popular space organizations in the world that send scientists and astronauts to the moon as well as other planets. ... Like the vast reaches of space, the fate of an astronaut corpse is uncharted territory. What Happens If An Astronaut Floats Off In Space? By Erik Sofge. That’s relatively low, considering our history of blasting folks into space without quite knowing what would happen. Would your body decompose? There have been eighteen astronaut deaths, but all were caused by a bona fide space disaster. As you stare up at the stars each night, you may dream about living among them, but you probably wouldn’t want to die out there. In short: he's in trouble. There can also be deaths. What I would expect: Most space missions are in low earth orbit. As of February 2020, in-flight accidents have killed 19 astronauts, in five separate incidents. So, what happens if an astronaut happens to die in space. As demonstrated by the ailments that plague ISS astronauts returning to Earth, we're simply not built for space. If someone became deathly ill for some reason they could be sent to Earth for medical attention. What happens if an astronaut dies in space? With the prospect of longer-term space travel on the horizon, more and more people are wondering… what happens if you die in space? Astronaut fatalities (In the statistics below, "astronaut" is applied to all space travellers to avoid the use of "astronaut/cosmonaut".) (Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures) In a recent StarTalk Radio episode, cohost Chuck Nice asked astronaut Mike Massimino whether NASA had some kind of protocol for bringing back an astronaut who dies in space. What I would expect: Most space missions are in low earth orbit. It’s a grim subject to pick up, but nonetheless, it is an interesting one. Dying in Space. Freeze? Humanosity says…Despite the dangers and a number of deaths getting to and from space no-one has died in space.