Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) (spoilers free to be seen)

[Kete]

You can survive in space for a few minutes. This article is about 10 years old, but it still applies.

In the new sci-fi film Sunshine, an astronaut named Mace must leave his spacecraft without a protective suit. He makes it through his exposure with only a case of frostbite. Could you really survive outer space without a suit?

Yes, for a very short time. The principal 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.

At most, an astronaut without a suit would last about 15 seconds before losing conciousness from lack of oxygen. (That's how long it would take the body to use up the oxygen left in the blood.) Of course, on Earth, you could hold your breath for several minutes without passing out. But that's not going to help in a vacuum. In fact, attempting to hold your breath is a sure way to a quick death. To make it for even a few seconds, Sunshine's Mace must have expelled the air from his lungs before he ventured into the starry void. If he hadn't, the vacuum would have caused that oxygen to expand and rupture his lung tissue, forcing fatal air bubbles into his blood vessels, and ultimately his heart and brain. Scuba divers are also at risk for air embolism; they're instructed not to hold their breath as they ascend from the deep sea.

An astronaut who fell unconscious from lack of oxygen would last for a few minutes more before dying from asphyxiation or the effects of the pressure reduction. Ebullism would result in the formation of bubbles in the moisture found in the eyes, mouth, and skin tissue. One NASA test subject who survived a 1965 accident in which he was exposed to near-vacuum conditions felt the saliva on his tongue begin to boil before he lost consciousness after 14 seconds.

In the movie, Mace takes the precaution of wrapping himself in insulation torn from the walls of the spacecraft he's leaving. This might provide some protection against temperatures in space that can run from minus-200 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. It might also ward off ultraviolet-related skin damage during a short jump through space.

What about the frostbite? That's actually the least plausible result of Sunshine's suitless spacewalk. The cold wouldn't cause Mace too much harm in just 15 seconds, even if he encountered the very lowest temperatures in space. That's because heat leaves the body very slowly in a vacuum. The more likely damage would be a "space hickey"—caused from the swelling and bursting of the skin's small blood vessels—which would look more like the effects of freeze-drying a wart than a case of frostbite.

[RVR II]

Hmm.. Don't think I want to test that for accuracy

[MartyS (Gromit)]

There was a STTNG episode where the use that info.  Except I think they got the holding your breath thing wrong, but it's been a long time since I've watched that episode.

There is a cool physics demo where you put a dish of water in a bell jar and hook up a vacuum pump, first the water boils and then starts to freeze.

Both times I got nit-picky during that scene with Leia and it took me out of the movie, they did a good job showing the ice crystals forming on her skin, but then she opened her eyes and nothing happened to them, the moisture on the eyes should have started forming ice crystals immediately.   But maybe she was using the force to keep her vision clear... 

[Cyrusso]

I could be wrong but I don't think she ever opened her eyes.

[Darth Geek]

I could be wrong but I don't think she ever opened her eyes.

I don't remember seeing her open her eyes, just her finger twitch to indicate she's waking up. And then her eyes are open when we see she's flying in space.

I think her using the Force to save herself was more of a survival instinct than anything else. Presumably a Force bubble protecting her. Then once she's awake she flies how we've seen Jedi effect their speed and falling.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

I could be wrong but I don't think she ever opened her eyes.

I don't remember seeing her open her eyes, just her finger twitch to indicate she's waking up. And then her eyes are open when we see she's flying in space.

Her eyes were closed in the first closeup of her face, then they cut to her hand moving, then they cut back to her face and I she opens her eyes, then they start the flying.   Maybe they were already open when they cut back to her face but I thought they showed her opening them, anyway there is certainly a closeup of her face with her eyes open before they pull away to do the flying part. 

[blspro]

They're closed and she opens them in the scene

[Edward J Grug III]

I could be wrong but I don't think she ever opened her eyes.

I don't remember seeing her open her eyes, just her finger twitch to indicate she's waking up. And then her eyes are open when we see she's flying in space.

Her eyes were closed in the first closeup of her face, then they cut to her hand moving, then they cut back to her face and I she opens her eyes, then they start the flying.   Maybe they were already open when they cut back to her face but I thought they showed her opening them, anyway there is certainly a closeup of her face with her eyes open before they pull away to do the flying part.

She's using magic to pull her back onto a ship, but her opening her eyes is too much?

[blspro]

She's using magic to pull her back onto a ship, but her opening her eyes is too much?

The problem is she didn't say 'Abracadabra' - or twitch her nose back and forth - or cross her arms and blink - or wave her magic wand. 

[Edward J Grug III]

She's using magic to pull her back onto a ship, but her opening her eyes is too much?

The problem is she didn't say 'Abracadabra' - or twitch her nose back and forth - or cross her arms and blink - or wave her magic wand. 

I hope someone dubs an Abracadabra into the movie and then releases it as a torrent with no warning so that people discover it upon viewing.

[goflyblind]

She's using magic to pull her back onto a ship, but her opening her eyes is too much?

The problem is she didn't say 'Abracadabra' - or twitch her nose back and forth - or cross her arms and blink - or wave her magic wand. 

I hope someone dubs an Abracadabra into the movie and then releases it as a torrent with no warning so that people discover it upon viewing.

nah, use "rock'n me" instead.

[Imrahil]

Big old Mon Cal Cruiser
Don't carry me too far awayyy

[Cyrusso]

Speaking of lyrics: "I am alone on Achc-to, with a hundred-thousand Porg, then I swore you were the last... you were the last Jedi... Jediiiiiiiiiii... you were the last Jedi..." (Imagine this to the tune of "The Last High" by the Dandy Warhols)

[Henry88]

after seeing it last week i can say....

[Cyrusso]

I don't like this remake of The Exorcist.