• Question: How dangerous is space?

    Asked by The FishFinger Killer to Stephen, Sita, Rory, Hannah, Brian, Alison on 5 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Hannah Currivan

      Hannah Currivan answered on 5 Mar 2019:

      Space is actually quite dangerous for us. 🙂 There is high radiation and a lot of space debris!!! Within Earths magnetic field there is an area called the South Atlantic Anomaly where radiation comes closest to the Earth’s surface to an altitude of 200km. This leads to an increased flux of energetic particles in this region, which means satellites in this orbit are exposed to higher then usual levels of radiation!!! To protect the satellites, the satellite operators stop observations. Interesting fact: “NASA has reported that modern laptops have crashed when the Space Shuttle flights passed through the anomaly”.
      Space Debris is a massive problem as well. Space Debris can be waste from a spacecraft or satellite that may cause damage to another satellite in orbit or the International Space Station (ISS) it has already caused great damage (Google has images of Space Debris damage on solar panels on satellites and the ISS.) Most satellites go into a graveyard orbit (Junk Orbit) when there lifetime is coming to an end, but still we have problems with cleaning up the waste that is in low earth orbit. There are missions to clean up orbits around Earth, because if we don’t clean it up, it will be a lot more difficult to send spacecraft through it without cause a disaster. Check out this European Space Agency link on Space Debris (https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Space_Debris/Active_debris_removal). 🙂 🙂 🙂

    • Photo: Alison Dufresne

      Alison Dufresne answered on 5 Mar 2019:

      About as dangerous as the deep ocean, but for very, very different reasons.

      Pressure in the deep ocean = very high
      Pressure in space = very low
      Deep oceans temperatures = bloody freezin’!
      Space temps = freezing to boiling in a few minutes (depending if you’re in the darkness or light)
      Deep ocean = many living creatures ready to eat you
      Space = no known living creatures (possible aliens hiding somewhere!)

      On a more serious note, space is dangerous for living creatures but we are figuring out how to keep our astronauts safe. We have pressurised living spaces with radiation protection, heaters, cooling systems, air filters, toilets and a lot else. We basically remake the terrestrial conditions in a confined space and people survive just fine. There are long term affects from space radiation (increased cancer risk) and low gravity (bone degeneration) but these are not immediate threats to anyone.
      On a happier note, no astronauts have actually died in space!! The most dangerous part of any mission is take-off and landing (similar for aeroplanes) and the mortality rate for these rides is actually below 2%! Safety is very important to us engineers, so if you’re planning to go up there, trust that we are doing everything we can to make sure you get there and back safely and in good health!

    • Photo: Sita Karki

      Sita Karki answered on 6 Mar 2019:

      It is dangerous because there is no oxygen, food and water so it will be difficult to survive in extreme conditions like very cold and dark.

    • Photo: Rory Scarrott

      Rory Scarrott answered on 6 Mar 2019:

      Dangerous verging on lethal.
      We need complex life support systems to even stay up there for a while.
      I have so much respect and awe for those adventurers who go there. Incredible individuals.

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