Recently interviewed by Vanity Fair, a NASA astronaut commented on the final sequence of “Guardians of the Galaxy 3”, in which Star-Lord finds himself in space without a suit.
SPOILERS – Warning, the article below reveals potential spoilers. If you do not wish to know its contents, please do not read what follows…
At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, released in theaters at the beginning of the year and very popular with Marvel fans like its two predecessors, Star-Lord finds himself for a few seconds in the middle of space, without protection nor combination, as he tries to join his friends by jumping desperately into the void.
Before he is rescued by Adam Warlock (a new, almost invincible character, but very important in the original comics), the space adventurer played by Chris Pratt begins to freeze instantly, and his face suddenly swells. .
A rather surprising physical reaction which may have disconcerted spectators of the film. But beyond its visually spectacular aspect, is the sequence in question really realistic? Would things happen the same way in real life? Not exactly, according to NASA astronaut Chris Hadfield, recently interviewed by Vanity Fair.
“By our best estimates, it’s possible to survive outside of a spaceship without a suit for 30 seconds without a problem. But beyond a minute and a half, some things will cause you permanent, irreversible, and fatal damage . After 90 seconds, you will have become a satellite”explained the astronaut, now retired.
“In about 15 seconds, all the oxygen that’s in your blood will flow back through your lungs in the opposite direction, and you’ll exhale it. So in 15 seconds, there will be no more oxygen in your blood, and When it hits your brain, you will lose consciousness.”
Marvel Studios
A rather unenviable situation, therefore. Especially when we add to this a significant swelling of the face, quite similar to the one we see in the film:
“We can see that the face [de Star-Lord] swells, it’s real”continues the astronaut. “If you took off your helmet in space, your lungs would sort of deflate, but your blood would also start to fizz, like opening a can of Coke. Release the pressure, and suddenly there will be bubbles in your blood, in your cheeks and all over your flesh. And you will swell, but not as much as we see it swelling here.”
According to Chris Hadfield, the creators of the Marvel feature film therefore exaggerated things a little, particularly in terms of the frost that appears on the character’s face:
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“It wouldn’t happen like that. There’s no water on your face. It won’t freeze instantly. You have some thermal mass, it’s like putting a big roast in the freezer. It won’t doesn’t freeze instantly, it takes a while. Most of it happens inside your body, but that’s not easy to show to moviegoers, so they exaggerated what happens a bit in his face.”
This emblematic sequence from the last part of Guardians of the Galaxy, even if it seems to be inspired by real information on the effects of a faceless spacewalk, has therefore been greatly accentuated to offer the public a more impressive spectacle .
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