Has any human ever had the choice to leave Earth permanently?












7












$begingroup$



Far beneath the ship / The world is mourning

They don't realize / He's alive

No one understands

But Major Tom sees / "Now the light commands

This is my home / I'm coming home."



Peter Schiling, Major Tom




I found myself waxing poetic after reading this question about the indicator light to tell when Apollo 8 entered the moon's sphere of influence.




When that light came on there was silence – it was a kind of dawning – we were witnessing the first time human beings were falling away from the Earth.




What goes up must come down. It's a law. This is simply how it works. Or worked. In the last century we developed enough technology to go up... and stay up. Someone who enters the moon's sphere of influence can simply choose not to initiate any burn, and wait for their final destination on the moon, never to return to earth again.



But the moon is destined to come home as well:




The Moon will be torn to pieces and every crater, mountain, valley, footprint and flag will be scattered to form a spectacular 23,000-mile-diameter (37,000-kilometer) Saturn-like ring of debris above Earth's equator. The new rings will be short-lived. Theory dictates they'll eventually rain down onto Earth's surface.




So even those who have had the opportunity to spend the rest of their days on the moon (should they have chosen as such) were destined to return, though on a much longer timescale than one might otherwise think.



Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth? (or at least choice not to return with the blessings of ground control, in case there were any missions where the astronauts had the delta-V but not the authority required to use it)










share|improve this question









$endgroup$

















    7












    $begingroup$



    Far beneath the ship / The world is mourning

    They don't realize / He's alive

    No one understands

    But Major Tom sees / "Now the light commands

    This is my home / I'm coming home."



    Peter Schiling, Major Tom




    I found myself waxing poetic after reading this question about the indicator light to tell when Apollo 8 entered the moon's sphere of influence.




    When that light came on there was silence – it was a kind of dawning – we were witnessing the first time human beings were falling away from the Earth.




    What goes up must come down. It's a law. This is simply how it works. Or worked. In the last century we developed enough technology to go up... and stay up. Someone who enters the moon's sphere of influence can simply choose not to initiate any burn, and wait for their final destination on the moon, never to return to earth again.



    But the moon is destined to come home as well:




    The Moon will be torn to pieces and every crater, mountain, valley, footprint and flag will be scattered to form a spectacular 23,000-mile-diameter (37,000-kilometer) Saturn-like ring of debris above Earth's equator. The new rings will be short-lived. Theory dictates they'll eventually rain down onto Earth's surface.




    So even those who have had the opportunity to spend the rest of their days on the moon (should they have chosen as such) were destined to return, though on a much longer timescale than one might otherwise think.



    Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth? (or at least choice not to return with the blessings of ground control, in case there were any missions where the astronauts had the delta-V but not the authority required to use it)










    share|improve this question









    $endgroup$















      7












      7








      7





      $begingroup$



      Far beneath the ship / The world is mourning

      They don't realize / He's alive

      No one understands

      But Major Tom sees / "Now the light commands

      This is my home / I'm coming home."



      Peter Schiling, Major Tom




      I found myself waxing poetic after reading this question about the indicator light to tell when Apollo 8 entered the moon's sphere of influence.




      When that light came on there was silence – it was a kind of dawning – we were witnessing the first time human beings were falling away from the Earth.




      What goes up must come down. It's a law. This is simply how it works. Or worked. In the last century we developed enough technology to go up... and stay up. Someone who enters the moon's sphere of influence can simply choose not to initiate any burn, and wait for their final destination on the moon, never to return to earth again.



      But the moon is destined to come home as well:




      The Moon will be torn to pieces and every crater, mountain, valley, footprint and flag will be scattered to form a spectacular 23,000-mile-diameter (37,000-kilometer) Saturn-like ring of debris above Earth's equator. The new rings will be short-lived. Theory dictates they'll eventually rain down onto Earth's surface.




      So even those who have had the opportunity to spend the rest of their days on the moon (should they have chosen as such) were destined to return, though on a much longer timescale than one might otherwise think.



      Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth? (or at least choice not to return with the blessings of ground control, in case there were any missions where the astronauts had the delta-V but not the authority required to use it)










      share|improve this question









      $endgroup$





      Far beneath the ship / The world is mourning

      They don't realize / He's alive

      No one understands

      But Major Tom sees / "Now the light commands

      This is my home / I'm coming home."



      Peter Schiling, Major Tom




      I found myself waxing poetic after reading this question about the indicator light to tell when Apollo 8 entered the moon's sphere of influence.




      When that light came on there was silence – it was a kind of dawning – we were witnessing the first time human beings were falling away from the Earth.




      What goes up must come down. It's a law. This is simply how it works. Or worked. In the last century we developed enough technology to go up... and stay up. Someone who enters the moon's sphere of influence can simply choose not to initiate any burn, and wait for their final destination on the moon, never to return to earth again.



      But the moon is destined to come home as well:




      The Moon will be torn to pieces and every crater, mountain, valley, footprint and flag will be scattered to form a spectacular 23,000-mile-diameter (37,000-kilometer) Saturn-like ring of debris above Earth's equator. The new rings will be short-lived. Theory dictates they'll eventually rain down onto Earth's surface.




      So even those who have had the opportunity to spend the rest of their days on the moon (should they have chosen as such) were destined to return, though on a much longer timescale than one might otherwise think.



      Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth? (or at least choice not to return with the blessings of ground control, in case there were any missions where the astronauts had the delta-V but not the authority required to use it)







      escape-velocity humans soi






      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question











      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question










      asked 9 hours ago









      Cort AmmonCort Ammon

      93149




      93149






















          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

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          14












          $begingroup$


          Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth?




          Apart from the Apollo missions, no crewed spacecraft has had anything like enough propellant to leave Earth orbit.



          Apollo is a very different story. After translunar injection, the Apollo CSM/LM stack could produce an additional 3600 m/s of delta-V by expending first the lunar module stages and then burning all the service module fuel. This is enough to reach Venus, Mars, the asteroid belt, or even Jupiter. However, the ship would only have crew life support for a couple of weeks at most -- not enough to reach any interesting destination alive.






          share|improve this answer









          $endgroup$





















            2












            $begingroup$

            No and yes.



            Rockets are costly things and no human ever left Low Earth Orbit, except the Apollo astronauts. Others had not enough fuel to do that.



            The Apollo astronauts had theoretically the option to contradict their mission requirements and choose death




            • on the Moon

            • on Moon orbit

            • or somewhere between the Moon and Earth


            by commiting a suicide terroristic-like act. They didn't do it on obvious reasons.



            One of the worst known violation of their rules was as John Young astronaut has taken a sandwitch with him into the space.



            The escape speed from the Earth from Lunar orbit is already very small, it is possible, that the few fuel of the Apollo - reserved for orbital correction - could have been enough to visit the interplanetary space - without any way to ever return.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              "without any way to ever return" - you'd still be on an Earth-intersecting orbit. You could just sit and wait. Might get home, might smash into the Moon, might get swept by a lone asteroid. It will take a lone time and the probability is low, but you might still get back to Earth by accident eventually.
              $endgroup$
              – John Dvorak
              8 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @JohnDvorak Yes, it would be intersecting and probably not very far from the orbit of the Earth, however a next hit of the Earth - after a year - would be still very improbable. The probable result would be a near-Earth travel after $approx$ a year, and then a Tesla Roadster-like chaotical orbit. It is nearly sure, that the ship would not enough fuel to hit Earth, even if it would be still working (probably it wouldn't, the whole Apollo travel was planned for a week, not for a year).
              $endgroup$
              – peterh
              8 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @JohnDvorak When you exceed escape velocity, you're not in orbit. Barring other influences, escape velocity is, by definition, a one-way ticket that never returns. If the Apollo fuel was sufficient to reach that speed, it wouldn't be coming back. The one thing missing from this answer is, did they have enough fuel to do that?
              $endgroup$
              – Nuclear Wang
              7 hours ago






            • 1




              $begingroup$
              "not in orbit" Around what?
              $endgroup$
              – Organic Marble
              7 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @NuclearWang Apollo may have had enough fuel to leave Earth's orbit, but you need way more fuel to leave the solar system. I've checked.
              $endgroup$
              – John Dvorak
              7 hours ago



















            0












            $begingroup$

            Soyuz 11



            The crew did not return to Earth in their lifetimes. This interpretation is obviously not what you are talking about though. Instead what is of interest is human's remains that do not return to Earth ever. In this case there is also a definitive answer.



            Clyde Tombaugh




            Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997, when he was in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 90. He was cremated. A small portion of his ashes was placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft.




            You may consider this cheating since it was only a small portion of his remains, but more than just a hypothetical, it actually happened, and not only did this portion of his remains escape the grasp of Earth, but also the grasp of the sun.






            share|improve this answer









            $endgroup$













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              3 Answers
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              14












              $begingroup$


              Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth?




              Apart from the Apollo missions, no crewed spacecraft has had anything like enough propellant to leave Earth orbit.



              Apollo is a very different story. After translunar injection, the Apollo CSM/LM stack could produce an additional 3600 m/s of delta-V by expending first the lunar module stages and then burning all the service module fuel. This is enough to reach Venus, Mars, the asteroid belt, or even Jupiter. However, the ship would only have crew life support for a couple of weeks at most -- not enough to reach any interesting destination alive.






              share|improve this answer









              $endgroup$


















                14












                $begingroup$


                Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth?




                Apart from the Apollo missions, no crewed spacecraft has had anything like enough propellant to leave Earth orbit.



                Apollo is a very different story. After translunar injection, the Apollo CSM/LM stack could produce an additional 3600 m/s of delta-V by expending first the lunar module stages and then burning all the service module fuel. This is enough to reach Venus, Mars, the asteroid belt, or even Jupiter. However, the ship would only have crew life support for a couple of weeks at most -- not enough to reach any interesting destination alive.






                share|improve this answer









                $endgroup$
















                  14












                  14








                  14





                  $begingroup$


                  Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth?




                  Apart from the Apollo missions, no crewed spacecraft has had anything like enough propellant to leave Earth orbit.



                  Apollo is a very different story. After translunar injection, the Apollo CSM/LM stack could produce an additional 3600 m/s of delta-V by expending first the lunar module stages and then burning all the service module fuel. This is enough to reach Venus, Mars, the asteroid belt, or even Jupiter. However, the ship would only have crew life support for a couple of weeks at most -- not enough to reach any interesting destination alive.






                  share|improve this answer









                  $endgroup$




                  Of the 533 humans who have been in orbit, have any of them been sent into space with enough propellant to actually escape Earth's grasp, should they have chosen to use the fuel in that manner? Has any human ever had the choice to never return to Earth?




                  Apart from the Apollo missions, no crewed spacecraft has had anything like enough propellant to leave Earth orbit.



                  Apollo is a very different story. After translunar injection, the Apollo CSM/LM stack could produce an additional 3600 m/s of delta-V by expending first the lunar module stages and then burning all the service module fuel. This is enough to reach Venus, Mars, the asteroid belt, or even Jupiter. However, the ship would only have crew life support for a couple of weeks at most -- not enough to reach any interesting destination alive.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered 7 hours ago









                  Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove

                  86.3k3288373




                  86.3k3288373























                      2












                      $begingroup$

                      No and yes.



                      Rockets are costly things and no human ever left Low Earth Orbit, except the Apollo astronauts. Others had not enough fuel to do that.



                      The Apollo astronauts had theoretically the option to contradict their mission requirements and choose death




                      • on the Moon

                      • on Moon orbit

                      • or somewhere between the Moon and Earth


                      by commiting a suicide terroristic-like act. They didn't do it on obvious reasons.



                      One of the worst known violation of their rules was as John Young astronaut has taken a sandwitch with him into the space.



                      The escape speed from the Earth from Lunar orbit is already very small, it is possible, that the few fuel of the Apollo - reserved for orbital correction - could have been enough to visit the interplanetary space - without any way to ever return.






                      share|improve this answer









                      $endgroup$













                      • $begingroup$
                        "without any way to ever return" - you'd still be on an Earth-intersecting orbit. You could just sit and wait. Might get home, might smash into the Moon, might get swept by a lone asteroid. It will take a lone time and the probability is low, but you might still get back to Earth by accident eventually.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak Yes, it would be intersecting and probably not very far from the orbit of the Earth, however a next hit of the Earth - after a year - would be still very improbable. The probable result would be a near-Earth travel after $approx$ a year, and then a Tesla Roadster-like chaotical orbit. It is nearly sure, that the ship would not enough fuel to hit Earth, even if it would be still working (probably it wouldn't, the whole Apollo travel was planned for a week, not for a year).
                        $endgroup$
                        – peterh
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak When you exceed escape velocity, you're not in orbit. Barring other influences, escape velocity is, by definition, a one-way ticket that never returns. If the Apollo fuel was sufficient to reach that speed, it wouldn't be coming back. The one thing missing from this answer is, did they have enough fuel to do that?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Nuclear Wang
                        7 hours ago






                      • 1




                        $begingroup$
                        "not in orbit" Around what?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Organic Marble
                        7 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @NuclearWang Apollo may have had enough fuel to leave Earth's orbit, but you need way more fuel to leave the solar system. I've checked.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        7 hours ago
















                      2












                      $begingroup$

                      No and yes.



                      Rockets are costly things and no human ever left Low Earth Orbit, except the Apollo astronauts. Others had not enough fuel to do that.



                      The Apollo astronauts had theoretically the option to contradict their mission requirements and choose death




                      • on the Moon

                      • on Moon orbit

                      • or somewhere between the Moon and Earth


                      by commiting a suicide terroristic-like act. They didn't do it on obvious reasons.



                      One of the worst known violation of their rules was as John Young astronaut has taken a sandwitch with him into the space.



                      The escape speed from the Earth from Lunar orbit is already very small, it is possible, that the few fuel of the Apollo - reserved for orbital correction - could have been enough to visit the interplanetary space - without any way to ever return.






                      share|improve this answer









                      $endgroup$













                      • $begingroup$
                        "without any way to ever return" - you'd still be on an Earth-intersecting orbit. You could just sit and wait. Might get home, might smash into the Moon, might get swept by a lone asteroid. It will take a lone time and the probability is low, but you might still get back to Earth by accident eventually.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak Yes, it would be intersecting and probably not very far from the orbit of the Earth, however a next hit of the Earth - after a year - would be still very improbable. The probable result would be a near-Earth travel after $approx$ a year, and then a Tesla Roadster-like chaotical orbit. It is nearly sure, that the ship would not enough fuel to hit Earth, even if it would be still working (probably it wouldn't, the whole Apollo travel was planned for a week, not for a year).
                        $endgroup$
                        – peterh
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak When you exceed escape velocity, you're not in orbit. Barring other influences, escape velocity is, by definition, a one-way ticket that never returns. If the Apollo fuel was sufficient to reach that speed, it wouldn't be coming back. The one thing missing from this answer is, did they have enough fuel to do that?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Nuclear Wang
                        7 hours ago






                      • 1




                        $begingroup$
                        "not in orbit" Around what?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Organic Marble
                        7 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @NuclearWang Apollo may have had enough fuel to leave Earth's orbit, but you need way more fuel to leave the solar system. I've checked.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        7 hours ago














                      2












                      2








                      2





                      $begingroup$

                      No and yes.



                      Rockets are costly things and no human ever left Low Earth Orbit, except the Apollo astronauts. Others had not enough fuel to do that.



                      The Apollo astronauts had theoretically the option to contradict their mission requirements and choose death




                      • on the Moon

                      • on Moon orbit

                      • or somewhere between the Moon and Earth


                      by commiting a suicide terroristic-like act. They didn't do it on obvious reasons.



                      One of the worst known violation of their rules was as John Young astronaut has taken a sandwitch with him into the space.



                      The escape speed from the Earth from Lunar orbit is already very small, it is possible, that the few fuel of the Apollo - reserved for orbital correction - could have been enough to visit the interplanetary space - without any way to ever return.






                      share|improve this answer









                      $endgroup$



                      No and yes.



                      Rockets are costly things and no human ever left Low Earth Orbit, except the Apollo astronauts. Others had not enough fuel to do that.



                      The Apollo astronauts had theoretically the option to contradict their mission requirements and choose death




                      • on the Moon

                      • on Moon orbit

                      • or somewhere between the Moon and Earth


                      by commiting a suicide terroristic-like act. They didn't do it on obvious reasons.



                      One of the worst known violation of their rules was as John Young astronaut has taken a sandwitch with him into the space.



                      The escape speed from the Earth from Lunar orbit is already very small, it is possible, that the few fuel of the Apollo - reserved for orbital correction - could have been enough to visit the interplanetary space - without any way to ever return.







                      share|improve this answer












                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer










                      answered 8 hours ago









                      peterhpeterh

                      1,96911531




                      1,96911531












                      • $begingroup$
                        "without any way to ever return" - you'd still be on an Earth-intersecting orbit. You could just sit and wait. Might get home, might smash into the Moon, might get swept by a lone asteroid. It will take a lone time and the probability is low, but you might still get back to Earth by accident eventually.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak Yes, it would be intersecting and probably not very far from the orbit of the Earth, however a next hit of the Earth - after a year - would be still very improbable. The probable result would be a near-Earth travel after $approx$ a year, and then a Tesla Roadster-like chaotical orbit. It is nearly sure, that the ship would not enough fuel to hit Earth, even if it would be still working (probably it wouldn't, the whole Apollo travel was planned for a week, not for a year).
                        $endgroup$
                        – peterh
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak When you exceed escape velocity, you're not in orbit. Barring other influences, escape velocity is, by definition, a one-way ticket that never returns. If the Apollo fuel was sufficient to reach that speed, it wouldn't be coming back. The one thing missing from this answer is, did they have enough fuel to do that?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Nuclear Wang
                        7 hours ago






                      • 1




                        $begingroup$
                        "not in orbit" Around what?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Organic Marble
                        7 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @NuclearWang Apollo may have had enough fuel to leave Earth's orbit, but you need way more fuel to leave the solar system. I've checked.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        7 hours ago


















                      • $begingroup$
                        "without any way to ever return" - you'd still be on an Earth-intersecting orbit. You could just sit and wait. Might get home, might smash into the Moon, might get swept by a lone asteroid. It will take a lone time and the probability is low, but you might still get back to Earth by accident eventually.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak Yes, it would be intersecting and probably not very far from the orbit of the Earth, however a next hit of the Earth - after a year - would be still very improbable. The probable result would be a near-Earth travel after $approx$ a year, and then a Tesla Roadster-like chaotical orbit. It is nearly sure, that the ship would not enough fuel to hit Earth, even if it would be still working (probably it wouldn't, the whole Apollo travel was planned for a week, not for a year).
                        $endgroup$
                        – peterh
                        8 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @JohnDvorak When you exceed escape velocity, you're not in orbit. Barring other influences, escape velocity is, by definition, a one-way ticket that never returns. If the Apollo fuel was sufficient to reach that speed, it wouldn't be coming back. The one thing missing from this answer is, did they have enough fuel to do that?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Nuclear Wang
                        7 hours ago






                      • 1




                        $begingroup$
                        "not in orbit" Around what?
                        $endgroup$
                        – Organic Marble
                        7 hours ago










                      • $begingroup$
                        @NuclearWang Apollo may have had enough fuel to leave Earth's orbit, but you need way more fuel to leave the solar system. I've checked.
                        $endgroup$
                        – John Dvorak
                        7 hours ago
















                      $begingroup$
                      "without any way to ever return" - you'd still be on an Earth-intersecting orbit. You could just sit and wait. Might get home, might smash into the Moon, might get swept by a lone asteroid. It will take a lone time and the probability is low, but you might still get back to Earth by accident eventually.
                      $endgroup$
                      – John Dvorak
                      8 hours ago




                      $begingroup$
                      "without any way to ever return" - you'd still be on an Earth-intersecting orbit. You could just sit and wait. Might get home, might smash into the Moon, might get swept by a lone asteroid. It will take a lone time and the probability is low, but you might still get back to Earth by accident eventually.
                      $endgroup$
                      – John Dvorak
                      8 hours ago












                      $begingroup$
                      @JohnDvorak Yes, it would be intersecting and probably not very far from the orbit of the Earth, however a next hit of the Earth - after a year - would be still very improbable. The probable result would be a near-Earth travel after $approx$ a year, and then a Tesla Roadster-like chaotical orbit. It is nearly sure, that the ship would not enough fuel to hit Earth, even if it would be still working (probably it wouldn't, the whole Apollo travel was planned for a week, not for a year).
                      $endgroup$
                      – peterh
                      8 hours ago




                      $begingroup$
                      @JohnDvorak Yes, it would be intersecting and probably not very far from the orbit of the Earth, however a next hit of the Earth - after a year - would be still very improbable. The probable result would be a near-Earth travel after $approx$ a year, and then a Tesla Roadster-like chaotical orbit. It is nearly sure, that the ship would not enough fuel to hit Earth, even if it would be still working (probably it wouldn't, the whole Apollo travel was planned for a week, not for a year).
                      $endgroup$
                      – peterh
                      8 hours ago












                      $begingroup$
                      @JohnDvorak When you exceed escape velocity, you're not in orbit. Barring other influences, escape velocity is, by definition, a one-way ticket that never returns. If the Apollo fuel was sufficient to reach that speed, it wouldn't be coming back. The one thing missing from this answer is, did they have enough fuel to do that?
                      $endgroup$
                      – Nuclear Wang
                      7 hours ago




                      $begingroup$
                      @JohnDvorak When you exceed escape velocity, you're not in orbit. Barring other influences, escape velocity is, by definition, a one-way ticket that never returns. If the Apollo fuel was sufficient to reach that speed, it wouldn't be coming back. The one thing missing from this answer is, did they have enough fuel to do that?
                      $endgroup$
                      – Nuclear Wang
                      7 hours ago




                      1




                      1




                      $begingroup$
                      "not in orbit" Around what?
                      $endgroup$
                      – Organic Marble
                      7 hours ago




                      $begingroup$
                      "not in orbit" Around what?
                      $endgroup$
                      – Organic Marble
                      7 hours ago












                      $begingroup$
                      @NuclearWang Apollo may have had enough fuel to leave Earth's orbit, but you need way more fuel to leave the solar system. I've checked.
                      $endgroup$
                      – John Dvorak
                      7 hours ago




                      $begingroup$
                      @NuclearWang Apollo may have had enough fuel to leave Earth's orbit, but you need way more fuel to leave the solar system. I've checked.
                      $endgroup$
                      – John Dvorak
                      7 hours ago











                      0












                      $begingroup$

                      Soyuz 11



                      The crew did not return to Earth in their lifetimes. This interpretation is obviously not what you are talking about though. Instead what is of interest is human's remains that do not return to Earth ever. In this case there is also a definitive answer.



                      Clyde Tombaugh




                      Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997, when he was in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 90. He was cremated. A small portion of his ashes was placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft.




                      You may consider this cheating since it was only a small portion of his remains, but more than just a hypothetical, it actually happened, and not only did this portion of his remains escape the grasp of Earth, but also the grasp of the sun.






                      share|improve this answer









                      $endgroup$


















                        0












                        $begingroup$

                        Soyuz 11



                        The crew did not return to Earth in their lifetimes. This interpretation is obviously not what you are talking about though. Instead what is of interest is human's remains that do not return to Earth ever. In this case there is also a definitive answer.



                        Clyde Tombaugh




                        Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997, when he was in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 90. He was cremated. A small portion of his ashes was placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft.




                        You may consider this cheating since it was only a small portion of his remains, but more than just a hypothetical, it actually happened, and not only did this portion of his remains escape the grasp of Earth, but also the grasp of the sun.






                        share|improve this answer









                        $endgroup$
















                          0












                          0








                          0





                          $begingroup$

                          Soyuz 11



                          The crew did not return to Earth in their lifetimes. This interpretation is obviously not what you are talking about though. Instead what is of interest is human's remains that do not return to Earth ever. In this case there is also a definitive answer.



                          Clyde Tombaugh




                          Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997, when he was in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 90. He was cremated. A small portion of his ashes was placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft.




                          You may consider this cheating since it was only a small portion of his remains, but more than just a hypothetical, it actually happened, and not only did this portion of his remains escape the grasp of Earth, but also the grasp of the sun.






                          share|improve this answer









                          $endgroup$



                          Soyuz 11



                          The crew did not return to Earth in their lifetimes. This interpretation is obviously not what you are talking about though. Instead what is of interest is human's remains that do not return to Earth ever. In this case there is also a definitive answer.



                          Clyde Tombaugh




                          Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997, when he was in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 90. He was cremated. A small portion of his ashes was placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft.




                          You may consider this cheating since it was only a small portion of his remains, but more than just a hypothetical, it actually happened, and not only did this portion of his remains escape the grasp of Earth, but also the grasp of the sun.







                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered 41 mins ago









                          LexLex

                          581114




                          581114






























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