Space tourists should be banned from having sex, scientists warn

Tourists venturing into space on these first commercial missions – such as those promoted by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin – should be banned from having sex outside planet Earth.

The conclusion is from Professor David Cullen, an astrobiology expert at Cranfield University in the UK.

According to him, there are “unanswered biological and legal questions” regarding sex in space that need to be “urgently addressed.

In a paper open to the public consultation that he wrote along with other researchers – including Brazilian Rafael Elias Marques of the National Biosciences Laboratory – and that will be presented in a parallel session to the 2023 Space Tourism Conference on Friday (28) in Los Angeles, Cullen warns of possible consequences of a space pregnancy.

According to scholars, if tourists have sex and conception occurs, the embryo could have its human form altered or put at risk in unpredictable ways by radiation, which could lead to lawsuits against the company that organized the flight.

Therefore, the British professor recommends that organizations offering these off-planet tourist flights make travelers sign legal documents that prohibit them from having sex during the flight, eliminating the risk of potential pregnancy.

The article still considers it “unrealistic” to assume that all space tourists will spontaneously stop having sex while exposed to microgravity – floating outside the atmosphere – and increased levels of ionized radiation.

“Our knowledge of the effects of the space environment on the early stages of human reproduction and the long-term consequence for children is in its infancy,” the text reads.

Nasa, to this day, denies that sex between humans has ever occurred off-planet.

But with the emergence of space tourism promoted by private companies in recent years, a market that is expected to grow further in the next decade, Professor Cullen considers it “expected that the motivations and behaviors of space tourists would differ from those of professional astronauts.”

In other words, civilians on vacation are less likely to control their sexual appetites like military pilots trained for the job.

Currently, spaceflight requires restrictive attire. The capsules also have little space, so there is no privacy.

However, the designs are expected to become more luxurious, according to the British Daily Mail, which may make travelers more comfortable.

Although the article focuses on the risks of pregnancy rather than sex itself, David Cullen reinforced to the publication that much is not understood about the sexual experience in this type of environment.

One more risk or issue is that most contraceptive methods have not had their effectiveness validated in a space environment.” Cullen pondered to the Mail.

Among the recommendations made by the group of scientists of which the British professor is a part are further studies to understand the consequences of sex in space, mandatory sexology studies as preparation for space missions, and the organization of meetings to discuss “uncontrolled human reproduction in space tourism.”

With information from UOL