A group of researchers are studying what sex in space will be like, for letting space tourists to have it & also to study human conception in space in future.
As we started to explore more about space with help of science and technology, its extent had left us in space tourism, that had already happened now and would be a separate notable industry in future. Space tourism, as the name implies, aims to take people above the earth’s atmosphere to witness the marvelous curvature of earth & the mysterious beauty of outer space.
Companies approach space tourism as a huge business in future and are competing to render the facility at the most affordable rate.
Space Tourism – Briefly
Space tourism has an edge over traditional trips by astronauts to space or to ISS, in that the travelling persons need not have to undergo stringent trainings and diet schedule as astronauts do. You just sit in the cabin / rocket, visit space & get back. However, commuting forth to space and back as a tour had necessitated hefty dollars, which aren’t reachable to normal people.
Companies like ‘Iwaya Giken’, had involved itself in addressing these hurdles by affording a space-tour for $180,000 (₹1.47 Crores). For comparison, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin sold single space-ticket for $1.25 million (₹10.2 Crores).
With this boon of space tourism, researchers want to discuss certain uncovered topics about behaviors and activities in space, especially ‘sex’ and human conception.
Starting point of the Study
Having sex in space could be a real possibility with the expected growth in space tourism over the next decade, says Cranfield University’s researchers.
There’s a considerable difference between well-trained professional astronauts and space tourists visiting space. Astronauts are completely restrained of sexual activities in space and the talk had not even emerged in the industry since now. Researchers, however, argues that it is unrealistic to assume all future space tourists will abstain from sexual activities in space.
Professor David Cullen from Cranfield University who led the study, says, “Our starting point was a throwaway comment about sex in space, but when we checked, we were surprised the sector has not openly considered the risks and this led to the study.”
This initiated international group of scientists, clinicians, and other interested parties to come together for the study led by David Cullen, Professor of Astrobiology & Space Biotechnology at Cranfield University.
What Sex in Space will be like?
Sex in space poses difficulties due to weightlessness of humans and Newton’s third law, says Wikipedia. The topic, however, has not openly considered or discussed the risks or prepared suitable mitigation approaches.
If sex in space were to happen in future, several risks would emerge, such as embryo developmental risks and those of a commercial nature such as liability, litigation, and reputational damage. Such risks need to be discussed for space tourism industry to emerge.
The study will also cover the risks of human conception during spaceflight and postflight, and what’s it like to conceive in space.
“Given the long-term importance of human reproduction beyond Earth, as humanity is trying to become a multi-planetary species, we need to take seriously the possible first step, whether this is planned, or especially if unplanned,” said Egbert Edelbroek, the head of SpaceBorn United, a Netherlands based organization researching human reproduction in space, who helped to coordinate the study.
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The new paper advises that all the relevant parties involved in the space tourism sector lead these discussions and investigate and disseminate best practice approaches within the sector, according to the statement.
The findings of the study have been published on 24th April as a green paper for community consultation. The paper will be debated in a parallel session alongside the upcoming Space Tourism Conference 2023 on April 28, in Los Angeles, USA.
What NASA says about Sex in Space?
Astronauts had averted talks about space-shuttle sex and NASA says that if it’s ever happened, the agency doesn’t know anything about it. NASA, however, normally has a policy against letting married couples fly together, not because they might get intimacy, feelings on each other but because it might hurt the team dynamic.
NASA had previously commissioned a study on sexual positions in outer space that involves experimenting with 10 different positions. Only four positions were found possible without “mechanical assistance”. Six of the positions required an elastic band or sleeping-baglike tube to keep the couple together in zero gravity.
The study had added that the basic ‘missionary’ sexual position is not possible in space and more exotic positions such as ‘doggystyle’ and ‘reverse cowgirl’ were no longer in different in space, as it’s hard to decide who was on top and who was on bottom.
Although, NASA hadn’t commented on the risk factors of sexual activities in space so far.
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