Sex In Space

Have humans had sexual intercourse beyond Earth? There have been rumors, but a Russian official has recently said he's sure it hasn't happened on the Russian side. NASA has been flying mixed gender crews since 1983-- including at least one married couple-- but the agency insists no sexual intercourse has ever taken place on American flights, either. Astronauts back that up. If true, the program-- not to mention the married couple-- missed a golden opportunity to learn how microgravity may, or may not, affect the human sex act.

This is not just about giggles and sighs. Before humanity can settle the Solar System, we must understand the necessary conditions for procreation. There is evidence that mammalian fetuses do not develop normally in microgravity, for example, but we don't know if that goes for humans, nor do we know how much gravity is required for normal development. Would Mars' roughly 1/3g be enough? Would the Moon's 1/6g? Would pregnant women need special gravitational environments? Does gravity bear on the vitality of sperm? Such questions need answered before we can build a spacefaring civilization.