Surviving in Space Without a Suit

How long could you survive in space without a suit?

One seconds, you step outside. Your first instinct might be to hold your

breath,

but that's the worst move. With no external pressure,

the air inside your

lungs expands instantly. Holding it would cause your lungs to

rupture, so

you must exhale. Ten seconds, your body begins to swell

like a balloon. This effect is called ebullism.

The pressure is so low that fluids in your tissues start forming

gas bubbles.

You expand to nearly twice your normal size,

but your skin stretches enough to keep

you intact. Fifteen seconds,

your tongue tingles. Moisture in your mouth

and eyes starts to boil not from

heat, but because there's no pressure to keep

liquids stable.

You're effectively boiling from the outside inward.

Twenty seconds, blackout. Your lungs now work in reverse,

pulling oxygen out of your blood and releasing it into space.

Your brain is starved of oxygen, and you lose consciousness.

Ninety seconds, the survival limit.

Your heart struggles to pump blood filled with gas bubbles.

If rescue happens now, survival is possible but with serious damage.

Two minutes, the end. Your heart stops.

You don't freeze instantly, but over time you drift silently,

becoming a

swollen, frozen figure in space.