By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-28 18:11:26 | Updated at 2024-12-29 09:28:51
15 hours ago
More than 675 people have traveled to space, but according to NASA, none of them have had sex in the final frontier.
Experts believe this will soon change as more civilians pay commercial spaceflight companies, such as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, to venture into space—albeit for a hefty price.
With this new era of spaceflight, physician, astronaut, and 'space sexology' expert Dr. Shawna Pandya has revealed specific 'moves' and technologies designed to provide an out-of-this-world experience.
She suggested trying 'dolphin-style' to overcome the challenges of low gravity.
'Dolphins are kind of in a neutral buoyancy environment,' Dr. Pandya explained on Scientific American's Science Quickly podcast. 'When two dolphins are trying to mate, a third dolphin comes in, takes one for the team, and holds a partner in place so the two dolphins can successfully mate.'
Other experts in the field have also proposed Velcro suits to keep couples from drifting apart or even a specially designed suit that fits two people.
Dr Pandya said there is good reason for researchers to get serious about testing some of these strategies and investigating others.
'More people are going to want to go to space for fun, for leisure and for pleasure... We need to think about how we approach sexuality, sexual health, reproduction in space in a way that is very considered, mindful, inclusive and ethical,' she said
While NASA insists that 'no humans have had sex in space', that could change very soon with the arrival of space tourism (stock image)
While NASA doesn't explicitly ban sex in space, its astronaut code of conduct calls for 'relationships of trust' and 'professional standards' to be maintained at all times.
The space agency has also banned any married couples from going into space together – although this is mostly due to group dynamics, rather than worries of them having sex.
But the issue to why astronauts are not copulating could be low gravity inside the International Space Station (ISS).
'So we need to think about Newton's third law of physics,' Dr Pandya explained during the podcast.
'Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, including thrust, right? You need to figure out the mechanics of how you're going to stay entwined in order to, to be able to actually, successfully, copulate.
'There's people who thought about that,' she added.
One such person is the late Vanna Bonta, an American actress and inventor who designed the '2Suit' in 2006.
'It's like a snuggie for two people, but they get to bind together,' Dr Pandya explained.
From Star Trek to Passengers (pictured), sex in space has been depicted in science fiction blockbusters for years
The 2suit is a flight suit with a large front flap that can be opened and attached to another 2suit using Velcro strips. It can also fasten to a stable surface.
Paul Root Wolpe, a former NASA Bioethicist, previously told DW.com: 'Everything on the walls of the space station is covered in Velcro, so you could take advantage of that by velcroing one partner to the wall.'
The roominess of the suit can be adjusted from within, and it is lined with inner harnesses that can be used to adjust the alignment of the wearers' bodies.
It is even equipped with a 'quick-disrobe' function that removes the garments.
In 2008, the History Channel manufactured and tested the first 2Suit, calling it 'one small step for humankind colonizing the universe.'
But these futuristic sex suits have yet to be produced or utilized on a larger scale.
Another forward-thinking space sexologist was German astronaut Ulrich Walter. In the 1980s, he suggested that humans should look to the animal kingdom for inspiration on how to achieve sex in space.
'So then his suggestion is: Why doesn't an astronaut take one for the team so they can all do it dolphin-style in the name of the greater good, so we can copulate in space,' Dr Pandya said.
But it's not just low gravity that stands in the way.
Dr Adam Watkins, associate professor in reproductive and developmental physiology, at the University of Nottingham previously told DailyMail.com that lack of privacy on space stations poses another challenge, as well as difficulty getting and maintaining an erection due to the blood pressure changes that occur while in space.
What's more, having sex in space could come with serious consequences.
If a non-civilian astronaut get pregnant in space, it would raise a lot of questions that experts are not currently sure how to answer.
'Can we mandate a termination of mission? Can we mandate a termination of that pregnancy if they're on Mars due to the health risks involved? There are so many ethical threads to pull on here,' Dr Pandya asked.
And those health risks could be life threatening to both the astronaut mother and her baby.
'DNA damage from the high levels of cosmic radiation is a real concern. Astronauts who spend six months in space are exposed to roughly the same amount of radiation as 1,000 chest X-rays,' Dr Watkins previously said.
'A pregnant woman, and her developing fetus, would also be exposed to that cosmic radiation while in space. This could be harmful to the embryos and the fetus.'
A recent study conducted on the ISS found that mice embryos developed for four days on the ISS showed no signs of damage.
But an earlier study published in 2020 conversely found that mouse embryos developed in space 'contain severe DNA damage.'
Likewise, since only a few people have gone to space we don't have enough data to really know what the effects would be on an unborn child.
'Until recently, reproduction in space has not been a major priority for the different space agencies,' Dr Watkins said.
'Now that there are plans to colonize the moon and even Mars, how we would populate other worlds has become more of a focus and will need to be addressed if we are to establish, maintain and grow human colonies off Earth.'
