ShareThis
by Fred C. Wilson III
July 16, 2012
“Sex is a two-way treat.”
-Franklin P Jones-
Having sex is something most of us enjoy doing; it’s fun. Sex is how we all got here. Sex is healthy. Making love and eating are the two most normal of human activities though creative couples can combine the two. Sex is the most fun we can share without smiling. ‘It’s the pleasure that makes one scream.’ (Source: ‘The Lover’) Novelty is the spice of life; but what about making whoopee in outer space that most extreme of environments? Have you ever fantasized about ‘doing it’ in space, on another planet or with an extraterrestrial? Pretend you’re an astronaut. You and your mixed party of six recently landed on Mars. You are your crew members are in the prime of life age and health wise. If they weren’t ‘top of the line’ they wouldn’t have been chosen for this dangerous mission. Project a month ahead; your party of six has settled in for the long haul; what then you wonder. It’s -142 degrees C. You can’t go outside for a game of beach volleyball. You and your five crewmen/women share everything including toilet facilities, the tiny fireless kitchen stove, beds are close and cramp. Even the shower with its recycled water is shared. Water does exist in abundance on Mars but you and your crew are recent arrivals and searching for water is weeks away. You and your fellow astronauts have plenty of free time after your daily exploration duties. Forced to live in such close quarters carnality begins to kick in. What’s a body gonna’ do on those cold and windy Martian nights and you’ve read every book in your little matchbox library and you’re tired of chess?
What we consider extraordinary on Earth are ordinary occurrences in space. Consider the problem of weightlessness or low gravity; how would this hamper sexual performance since gravity as we’ve experienced it is absent. For couples desiring children pregnancy, fetal development, and weightlessness present grave problems. As far as we know only a yet-to-be-invented artificial gravity devise could enable couples to copulate in earthlike conditions. Then there’s the problem of radiation, noise, vibration, isolation, disrupted circadian rhythms (our bodies adaption of our inner 24 hour clock), and stress to consider.
Once our six astronauts arrive on Mars or one or more of the inhabitable moons of the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus) gravity would still factor in. As mentioned in a previous article on the Red Planet human colonization of space is not only possible but necessary to our long term survival as a species. Adapting sexual intercourse to non-earthlike environments is crucial. The subject of sex in space is still a taboo subject given the Puritan morals of this country. Since human survival is paramount common sense demand open and honest discussion of this vital subject. There was wide speculation that married Space Shuttle astronauts Mark C. Lee and Jan Davis may have ‘hooked up’ during their STS-47 mission. If they did ‘do the do’ mum’s the word (Nobody’s talking.). We humans can adapt to almost anything; sex in extreme conditions not withstanding. We’re a creative lot. I’m sure that once space travel becomes common place the problems of space sex will be easily overcome.
They say necessity is the mother of invention; it is. Case in point: “Lyubov Serova, a 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.” (Source: www.space.com ‘Sex in Space: From Russia with Love by Yuri Karash)
“The 2suit (alternately 2-Suit or two suit) 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, was one of the subjects of a television documentary.” (Source: History Channel ‘Sex in Space.’) Four years ago NASA started planning for long-term lunar missions. NASA plans to establish permanent Lunar colonies within a few years! Settlers would be encouraged to migrate to the Moon and would engage in sexual intercourse.
Your writer thinks that on mixed crew space flights coupling among crew members wouldn’t be a good idea for a number of reasons. There is the question of ethics. Adultery is adultery whether on Earth or on distant exoplanets (planets outside our Solar System). Since the laws of physics are basically the same throughout the cosmos, unless proved otherwise, moral absolutes also exist. Murder on Mars would still be a capital crime. Once extraterrestrial colonies are established marriages could be contracted, babies made, and families formed.
Reader I don’t think that couples would have a hard time devising ways of having sex in space. Where but in outer space could loving couples expand the boundaries of their sexual creativity? Conceiving children could present problems if the child was conceived in a weightless environment. Gravity affects all aspects of vertebrate development. This includes cell structure/function, organ development, and human behavior. The extraterrestrial environment may play havoc with fetal development. In studies conducted on mammalian reproduction in conditions of microgravity, lab rat fetuses developed properly once they were birthed however they lacked the ability to right themselves (They couldn’t stand up and walk!). If slow fetal development in microgravity could delay or stunt normal develop in laboratory animals who can say it won’t happen to human beings under similar laboratory conditions? (Source: Wakayama S, Kawahara Y, Li C, Yamagata K, Yuge L, T Wakayama (2009). Dey, Sudhansu Kumar: ‘Detrimental Effects of Microgravity on Mouse Pre-implantation Development in Vitro’). Reader there’s a lot more to sexing it up in space than I have page space. If you want to read more on this interesting subject please use your search engine and type in: ‘Sex in Space’ and there’s pictures too!
Did you ever hold a $5,000.00 bill in your hand? I did, two of them to be exact. Next edition we’ll take a tour of the Federal Reserve’s Bank’s Money Museum here in Chicago. Till next time GOD bless, stay cool, and drive defensively.