Sex in space is a fascinating subject for fiction, but not for NASA. In an interview with The Daily Beast, space health experts discussed the official policy of the space agency to strictly prohibit sexual relations and conception in orbit – and this is not without reason.
According to the interview, NASA is concerned that someone might get pregnant in space. Such irresponsibility can negatively affect a woman’s reproductive health and the well-being of the unborn fetus in an environment with microgravity. This is the main reason for the ban.
Experiments in orbit have shown “limited success” with offspring in invertebrates and insects. But experiments with large animals were not carried out. Although, according to Jennifer Fogarty, an expert in space medicine, from an anatomical and biological point of view, human conception in space is absolutely possible. But there are serious risks that microgravity and radiation can severely damage and even kill the fetus.
Harmful effects of microgravity and radiation
In fact, we still don’t know much about how space affects adult human bodies. But the known data indicate that, in general, space is a rather dangerous place for human health. The impact of microgravity has a strong effect on astronauts, especially on long-term missions: people lose muscle tissue, and bones lose strength. Microgravity even negatively affects blood circulation, but there is even a positive point in this, which can even help with sex in orbit.
“Former NASA astronaut Mike Mullane officially stated that during missions he woke up from an erection that could “drill through kryptonite,” said Kinsey Institute researcher and space sexologist Simon Dube.
NASA engineer Jonathan Miller, who has worked with the agency for more than 30 years, explained about the special difficulties of sex in microgravity. He believes that “sex in space is greatly overestimated,” because in fact it is very difficult to do such an act because of the impossibility of being alone, the number of positions is almost tripled, and the couple constantly has to find a foothold.
Earlier we reported on how ISS astronauts save lives in orbit.
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