Travis Vocino Experiments in Art, Science & Technology.

This is something I’ve always pondered. My friends and I have discussed it — like most scientific questions that come up — ad nauseam. So when I saw it posted on Slashdot in reference to the movie Sunshine, I said to myself “ooh.”

The question is answered to some detail in a recent Q&A article on Slate — noting that the movie got it almost correct in their interpretation of a suitless spacewalk.

Yes, for a very short time. The principle functions of a spacesuit are to create a pressurized, oxygenated atmosphere for astronauts, and to protect them from ultraviolet rays and extreme temperatures. Without it, a spacewalker would asphyxiate from the lack of breathable air and suffer from ebullism, in which a reduction in pressure causes the boiling point of bodily fluids to decrease below the body’s normal temperature. Since it takes a bit of time for these things to kill you, it’s possible to make it through a very quick stint in outer space.

There’s almost an interesting reference to a real-life incident in 1965 at NASA’s site.

The subject regained consciousness at around 15,000 feet equivalent altitude. The subject later reported that he could feel and hear the air leaking out, and his last conscious memory was of the water on his tongue beginning to boil.

Bad ass.