Did anyone have sex in space yet? We don't have that much information but experts think it is unlikely as sex in microgravity is more likely a nightmare than anything else.

Image by Saulius Rozanas from Pixabay

• Be also sure to check out my other posts and follow me @kralizec and subscribe to my Youtube channel at Kralizec Gaming Youtube Channel

We have been flying to space for almost sixty years now. And during the majority of these spaceflights, we flew to around 400 km high. And now we are even capable of living in space for months. Eating, sleeping, washing ourselves. Many of the activities are quite different in a microgravity environment. More often than not they are more complicated but mainly different. But one of the human activities in space we know little about is sex.

If it happened, we would probably know

The American astronaut Leroy Chiao said to Gizmodo back in 2009 that if a sexual act between two astronauts took place we would probably know about it. Astronauts are still human and likely they would eventually tell someone. You know, about joining the 400-mile high club. And shortly after, others would be told and eventually everyone would know. Thus, if Chiao is correct, sex never happened in space. Or astronauts are really good at keeping secrets.

Sex in space – is it even worth it?

There are a lot of ways in which you can have your name written in the annals of space exploration. And having sex in orbit (or further) is seemingly one of the more pleasant ways of doing so. But is that the case?

There are several things that would make sex in space quite complicated

• Privacy
  Spaceships are small. And you don't really have the time to have sex while flying one. Space stations are a bit better but still pretty small. Yet, while there are several astronauts at the same at the ISS its 400 meters squared do theoretically provide some privacy.
• “Functional” problems
  Blood doesn't flow in microgravity the same way it does down on Earth where its gravity helps the blood flow into the lower parts of the body. Thus it is assumed that it is harder to achieve an erection in space than it is on Earth.
• Testosterone
  Research by NASA shows that testosterone levels are lower after being in space for a longer time. Thus it is quite possible that astronauts will not even want to have sex that much.
• Liquids
  Obviously, liquids behave differently in microgravity. All the bodily fluids produced during sex would just by flying around and that might not be exactly comfortable.
• Newton's Laws
  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And that is true in space as well. Any movement or touch will make the partner go away. Even a short sexual act may result in your partner flying across the room. Though this problem may be solved with some kind of belts or a similar device.

Space Sexual Hoax

In the year 2000, a science writer Pierre Kohler released a book named The Final Mission in which he mentioned a classified document from NASA called 12-571-3570 which described 10 different sexual positions that were allegedly tested during the STS-75 mission.

Most of the positions included belts and an inflatable bag. But NASA denied the existence of any such document. Plus, the document in the book appeared in the year 1989 – six years before the mission took place. And … only three men were on board during the mission.

Gravity is the key

As you probably already gathered, for us to have sex in space we will probably have to wait for gravity. Either until we land on a large enough celestial body that it provides us with gravity or for any kind of artificial gravity.

And NASA has no plans of going to the boon before the year 2024. But, a woman should be going as well. But on the other hand, the lunar module will likely not be very large and provide close to no privacy. A more realistic option might be Musk's Starship which should carry up to a hundred passengers. But the question there remains – when?

The other option of artificial gravity – most likely provided by spinning – is something that could feasibly allow humans to have sex in space. But the technical problems are still too large for us to actually have it anytime soon.

Sources:

• https://nypost.com/2018/12/07/sex-in-space-would-be-a-nightmare-scientist-says/
• https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/nov/19/theobserver.uknews
• https://planetradio.co.uk/debrief/relationships/sex/can-sex-space/
• https://www.space.com/3428-astronauts-arrest-spotlights-differences-nasa-navy-policies.html
• https://www.thoughtco.com/is-sex-in-space-possible-3072597

---

• If you like the content I’m producing about science maybe you will like the content I produce about gaming as well! Be sure to check out my other posts!