How you'd really die in space: What sci-fi gets right (and wrong) about extra-terrestrial expirations "Contrary to many depictions, you will not explode." You've seen it in a thousand sci-fi movies: an astronaut is ejected into space and freezes instantly, then shatters like an ice cube. A hairline crack appears in a helmet, and a character asphyxiates in seconds, desperately pawing at their space...