the_fungible_man t1_iteqae6 wrote on October 23, 2022 at 2:09 AM

The loss of pressure would initially cause the water to boil. As the water boils to vapor, it cools the remaining water. Eventually the water would be cooled to the point it would freeze. After that the ice would sublimate to vapor.

haruku63 t1_itfhsmp wrote on October 23, 2022 at 7:00 AM

The process was used in the Apollo missions to cool the LM and the EVA suits. Water ran through a porous metal block exposed to the vacuum. Water first sublimated, then an ice crust. Turning water into vapor needs a lot of energy, thus the method is very effective.

The method is still used with EVA suits.

gumby_the_2nd OP t1_itet10o wrote on October 23, 2022 at 2:32 AM

What if the breach was on the side not facing the sun? Would it still sublimate due to the pressure difference, or would it remain as a solid until exposed to light?

the_fungible_man t1_itevk6p wrote on October 23, 2022 at 2:54 AM

Sublimation of ice cools the ice left behind. Eventually the remaining ice will reach the temperature point in the ice/water/vapor pressure vs. temperature phase diagram at which ice is the equilibrium state. Below that temperature (somewhere below -100°C.) sublimation effectively stops.

This is why moons of the outer planets can have long-lived ice crusts exposed directly to the hard vacuum of space.

Weibuller t1_itiw0au wrote on October 23, 2022 at 11:38 PM

This process occurs because of the vacuum of space, not as the result of energy absorbed from the sun. The heat we feel from the Sun here on the Earth's surface is the result of the energy from the sunlight being absorbed and retained by the atmosphere. In space, the only energy you "see" is what strikes you in a "line-of-sight" sense. The amount of energy involved in this situation would be very small and would have a relatively small impact on the evaporation and sublimation processes.