Sex in space refers to sexual activity in the weightlessness and/or extreme environments of outer space. Usually only human sexual activity is considered. The act of human intimacy, sexual intercourse, and procreation distinguished by the state of weightlessness (precluding artificial gravity) presents difficulties surrounding the performing of most sexual activities due to Newton's Third Law. The issue also includes conception and pregnancy in off-Earth environments.
The topic of sex in space has been hotly debated to clarify its potential impact on human beings in the isolated, confined, and hazardous space environment. Past discussions often included attempts to determine the veracity of speculations (e.g., about the STS-47 mission, on which married astronauts Mark C. Lee and Jan Davis flew), and even hoaxes, such as Document 12-571-3570. Experts such as Princeton astrophysics professor Dr. J. Richard Gott consider humanity's expansion into space crucial to survival,[1] but it was considered taboo for decades of spacefaring exploration history.[2][3]
As of 2009, with NASA planning long-term missions for lunar settlements with goals to explore and colonize space, the topic has taken its respected place in life sciences. Scientist Stephen Hawking publicly concurred in 2007 that possibly human survival itself will depend on successfully contending with the extreme environments of space.[4]
Contents |
Numerous physiological changes have been noted during spaceflight, many of which may affect sex and procreation, although it remains unclear whether such effects are due to gravity changes, radiation, noise, vibration, isolation, disrupted circadian rhythms, stress, or a combination of these factors.[5]
The primary issue to be considered in off-Earth reproduction is the lack of a 1G gravitational field. Life on Earth, and thus the reproductive and ontogenetic processes of all extant species and their ancestors, evolved under the constant influence of the Earth's 1G gravitational field. It is imperative to study how space environment affects critical phases of mammalian reproduction and development as well as events surrounding fertilization, embryogenesis, pregnancy, birth, postnatal maturation, and parental care.[6] Gravity affects all aspects of vertebrate development, including cell structure and function, organ system development, and even behavior. As gravity regulates mammalian gene expression then there are significant implications for successful procreation in an extraterrestrial environment.
Studies conducted on reproduction of mammals in microgravity include experiments with rats. Although the fetus developed properly, the rats that developed in microgravity lacked the ability to right themselves.[7] Another study examined mouse embryo fertilization in microgravity. Although both groups resulted in healthy mice, the authors noted that the growth rate was slower for the embryos fertilized in microgravity than for those in normal gravity.[8]
The psychosocial implications of in-flight sex and reproduction are at least as problematic as the related physiological challenges. For the foreseeable future, space crews will be relatively small in number. If pairing off occurs within the crew, it can have ramifications on the crew's working relationships, and therefore, on mission success and crew operations.[9][10] Behavioral health, close proximity, compatibility and coupling will all be factors determining selection of crews for long term and off-planet missions.
Lyubov Serova a leading specialist with the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in the field of procreation in the conditions of spaceflight says "After a period of adaptation for weightlessness, people will not need any special devices, like elastic belts or inflatable tubes to have sex in space," and "We study the impact of weightlessness on the reproductive function of male and female bodies by using mammals as test subjects, particularly rats,". The overall conclusion is that sex in space is not a physical problem, and that individuals motivated enough to embark on space flight won't be distracted by sex.[11]
The 2suit (alternately 2-Suit or twosuit) is a garment designed to facilitate effortless intimacy in the weightless environments such as outer space, or on planets with low gravity. The flight garment, invented by Vanna Bonta,[13][14][15] was one of the subjects of a television documentary.[16][17]
The adult entertainment production company Private Media Group has filmed a movie called The Uranus Experiment: Part Two where the zero gravity intercourse scene was accomplished by flying an airplane to an altitude of 3300 meters and then doing a steep dive. The filming process was particularly messy from a technical and logistical standpoint. Budget constraints allowed only for one 20 second shot. Performed by the actors Sylvia Saint and Nick Lang.[18] Berth Milton, Jr, president and CEO of Private Media Group says "You would not want to be afraid of flying, that's for sure!". The soundtrack was produced by 3D from Massive Attack and Liam from The Prodigy.[19]
When Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins published his autobiography Carrying the Fire in 1974, a contemporary Time Magazine quoted the following passage: "Imagine a spacecraft of the future, with a crew of a thousand ladies, off for Alpha Centauri, with 2,000 breasts bobbing beautifully and quivering delightfully in response to every weightless movement . . . and I am the commander of the craft, and it is Saturday morning and time for inspection, naturally".[20] The magazine followed this up by running a letter from one Sharon Smith, who agreed that the presence of breasts "bobbing weightlessly" would render spacemen unable to do their jobs and added that the space program must safeguard itself by the painful but necessary step of excluding men.[21]
The difficulties microgravity poses for human intimacy were discussed in the anonymous fictional NASA Document 12-571-3570 in 1989, where the use of an elastic belt and an inflatable tunnel were proposed as solutions to these problems. A spoof mission patch and other documents were determined to be hoaxes.
The issue of sex in space also appears in a number of science fiction works. In 1973, Isaac Asimov conjectured what sex would be like in the weightless environment of space. He anticipated some of the benefits of engaging in sex in an environment of microgravity.[22] Arthur C. Clarke in turn was quick to point out in a letter to the editor that he had beaten Collins to addressing the matter in the novel Rendezvous with Rama (1973):[23] "Some women, Commander Norton had decided long ago, should not be allowed aboard ship; weightlessness did things to their breasts that were too damn distracting. It was bad enough when they were motionless; but when they started to move, and sympathetic vibrations set in, it was more than any warm-blooded male should be asked to take. He was quite sure that at least one serious space accident had been caused by acute crew distraction, after the transit of an unholstered lady officer through the control cabin."
Among the films, which include space sex themes, are Moonraker, Moving Violations, Supernova, The Uranus Experiment and Cube 2: Hypercube. In the novelization of Alien, Parker tells Brett about an episode of zero-G sex that went wrong.