Commercial space company Blue Origin has already started sendingpaying customerson suborbital flights.
And Elon Musk hopes to start abase on Marswith his firm SpaceX.
After death here on Earth, the human body progresses through a number of stages of decomposition.
This is the state of rigor mortis.
Next enzymes, proteins which speed up chemical reactions, break down cell walls releasing their contents.
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At the same time, the bacteria in our gut escape and spread throughout the body.
They devour the soft tissues putrefaction and the gases they release cause the body to swell.
This waxy coating can act as a barrier on top of the skin to protect and preserve it.
But in most cases, the soft tissues will ultimately disappear to reveal the skeleton.
These hard tissues are much more resilient and can survive for thousands of years.
Halting decomposition
So, what about death in the final frontier?
And bacteria from the gut would still devour the soft tissues.
Environments on different planets will not have evolved to make use of our bodies in the same efficient way.
Insects and scavenging animals are not present on other planets in our system.
The arid environment of Mars.Pixabay
Temperature is also a key factor in decomposition.
On the Moon, for example,temperatures can range from 120C to -170C.
Bodies could therefore show signs of heat-induced change or freezing damage.
Our bodies would be the aliens in space.
