What Happens If An Astronaut Passes Away In Space?

If an astronaut passes away in space, their body stays where it is, just like when someone falls asleep on a couch and doesn’t wake up, they stay there.

When someone passes away on Earth, people usually move them somewhere else. But in space, there’s no one to help move the body around. So the astronaut's body stays floating, just like when you let go of a balloon and it floats upward.

The body might slowly drift away from the spaceship if it isn’t attached, kind of like how a toy car rolls off a table and moves across the floor, but in space, there’s no floor or gravity to stop it.

The spaceship doesn't know that the astronaut has passed away. It keeps going on its journey, just like your favorite toy train keeps moving even if you’re not pushing it anymore.

Sometimes, other astronauts might notice that one of their friends isn’t moving or responding, and then they might say, "Oh, that astronaut is resting in space." That’s how astronauts sometimes say goodbye to each other up there.