Two astronauts stranded on the international space station have been in the news recently. The Starliner transport module, developed by Boeing, was stricken with propulsion issues leaving the two people on the station with no means of returning to earth.

It got me thinking, how would someone survive in space for an extended period if they were stranded? It might to some degree depend on where one was marooned. 

Floating in deep space would impose sever challenges to one’s survival, maybe too great for anytime other than a few hours or days.

Being stranded on a moon or planet could raise the chances of surviving until rescue arrived.

The basic needs for survival are oxygen, water, food and heat. Added to this might be radiation protection (Cosmic rays in particular).

Assuming we are stranded on a planet or moon, what might a survival kit look like?

For long term survival one would need a means of recycling and producing oxygen. Carbon dioxide scrubbers would recycle the air we breathe. A device to produce the oxygen from oxides in rock or an electrolysis unit to split water molecules would provide an extra steady supply. They need electricity to operate though. See my comments under heat.

Food and water are interesting. Our kit would contain a limited ration of water. Conserving and recycling our water will keep us alive longer. This requires a water purifier. We might find a suitable water source we can collect and liquify nearby to extend our life until someone rescues us.

Rations of food would be part of our survival kit. However, we can only carry so much food, so this would severely limit our time for rescue unless a suitable food production process were included. Fast growth protein cultures? Hydroponics? This is an interesting issue.

Space is cold, much too cold for humans to survive without a means of maintaining our body temperature. Space suits have self contained heaters, but they depend on a power source to continue operating. A highly insulated survival tent could conserve more heat from leaking out. But, to live long term, a power source is needed. Solar radiation collection and storage might be an option depending on where we are. Otherwise, we might need a radioactive powered heat and electricity generator to provide these needs. The supply would also power the equipment for oxygen production and recycling.

That leaves us with radiation protection. The survival tent material might offer some protection. We could also find a lava tube or other location sheltered from the sun and cosmic ray.

Maybe we could survive for more than a few days. But to complete the survival kit, we need a distress beacon so people know where we are.

What do you think? Could we survive long enough to get rescued?