Let's Talk About Sex in Space

There have, for the record, been no official, confirmed reports of inappropriate behavior, consensual or otherwise, among Shuttle, Soyuz, Shenzhou, or ISS crew members. Yet these official denials haven't stopped minds on Earth from speculating about how those in orbit might be passing some of their most private time.

Now that Earth has had a co-ed space station in orbit for over three decades, the obvious question must be raised once again: What goes on behind closed hatches? Have any of the astronauts ever taken things to the next level?

While there has been a human presence in space since 1961, the topic of sex in space continues to be woefully under-examined. There are several reasons for this, one of them being that most manned missions to space have not been long enough in duration to push NASA to seriously address the question. When you're just trying to figure out how to survive in a uniquely hostile environment, "knowing in the Biblical sense" sits pretty low on the list of pressing scientific questions that need to be answered. But not for long.

Imaginations were set aflame in 1992 when it was reported that Jan Davis and Mark Lee, two astronauts who went to orbit aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor, had secretly married nine months prior to their mission. The deployment of husband and wife on the same mission was a first for NASA—the space agency subsequently forbade such pairings—and immediately prompted speculation that they may have been the first couple in history to consummate their marriage free from the surly bonds of Earth.

Aside from the lack of urgent scientific reasons to really test human libido and sexual behavior in orbit, the simple fact of the matter is that body-to-body docking in microgravity is probably not as orgasmic as we might imagine it to be. In the first place, there are significant logistical difficulties in orchestrating the deed, and this alone, Wolpe suggested, might be reason enough to dissuade astronauts from unofficial experimentation.

"I do think there is a time when sexuality in space is going to have to be addressed," said Paul Root Wolpe, the Director of Emory University's Center for Ethics and a senior bioethicist at NASA. "I do not know if NASA has an official policy on sex in space, [but] there will be a time when NASA needs to make some policies or understandings about those kinds of relationships. There is a point where the length of time [on a mission] becomes part of the question of whether or not it's fair to deprive people of this aspect of being human. I'm just not sure it's time yet."

"A lot of people think that sex in microgravity will be great because by losing gravity you can move in ways you can't terrestrially. The [scientists] who've thought about this aren't so sure about that at all," he said. "One of the things that gravity helps us do is stay together, so sex in microgravity might actually be more difficult because you're going to have to make sure that you're always holding each other so you don't drift apart. It might be a lot more challenging and a lot less fulfilling than most people think."

All of these limitations have nonetheless failed to tame humanity's raunchier cosmic fantasies. In The Hammer of God , a 1993 science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, the author considers the pros and cons of various solar system locations for cosmic coitus, noting that the novelty of zero gravity in free space soon wears off, while the gravity of the moon makes you bounce all over.

Astronauts tend to sweat more in space, and decreased blood pressure could make it more difficult for males to hold up their end of the mission. As for the female side of things, the jury is still out on whether microgravity is a bane or a boon to boobs. While one astronaut trainer has confirmed that bras are in fact worn in space, this is usually during the intense exercise regimens that astronauts are submitted to. Beyond that, it's a matter of personal preference.

The gravity on Mars—about one third that of Earth's—"is light enough to do what you want [and] heavy enough to make it interesting," wrote Arthur C. Clarke.

"Both the pleasures and problems of zero-gravity sex have been greatly exaggerated," Clarke wrote in 1982's 2010: Odyssey Two. But he looked forward to the sexual innovations which would result from taking sex to space. "Weightlessness will bring about new forms of erotica. About time, too."

The gravity on Mars, however, which is about one third that of Earth's, writes the sci-fi legend, "is light enough to do what you want [and] heavy enough to make it interesting."

The twelve approaches that were tested included strapping the couples together and placing them inside a giant inflatable tunnel, both of which understandably made it hard for the astronauts to get aroused. The report concluded that "the effectiveness of the system was validated through twelve experiments," finding that the use of an elastic band to keep the couples in place was the optimal method.

The positions Garan is referring to are solely work related—reaching, exercising, fixing a space telescope. But in 1989, a document allegedly released by NASA appeared to reference research involving positions of a more intimate nature. Known as 12-571-3570, this document allegedly detailed the results of an experiment aboard STS-75, wherein couples engaged in various sexual acts to determine which were most effective for reproductive purposes.

"I don't know [what sex in space] is like, of course," he says, laughing. "I assume it would be just as enjoyable as it is on Earth. Weightlessness is liberating—being able to have complete freedom of movement to go wherever you want, [you can] be in any position you want."

Nevertheless, this problem was tackled by the late novelist Vanna Bonta, who developed the 2suit specifically for the purpose of helping astronauts perform the proverbial orbital insertions. When two people wearing the 2suit come together in microgravity, the suit allows them to effectively create one large sleeping bag, solving the problem of drifting apart so that they can focus on their cosmic kamasutra or whatever it is they're into.

The study made its rounds on the internet for several years, eventually prompting NASA to respond a decade later when French science writer Pierre Kohler cited it as fact in his book The Final Mission. The whole thing was obviously a hoax, said NASA, given that STS-75 didn't launch until 1996, seven years after the paper was released. Perhaps this is for the better, as the acts described in the document sound far more uncomfortable and awkward than pleasurable.

I asked Garan to clarify. "I can only speak for myself, but we're professionals," he said. "It's in the realm of what is possible, but the missions are so busy and intense, that it's normal to just focus on the mission."

Although it seems that what happens in space is staying in space, this doesn't necessarily mean the ISS is full of sexual prudes. One Russian cosmonaut interviewed by writer Mary Roach told her , "My friend asks me, 'How are you making sex in space?' I say, 'By hand!'" In a 2012 Reddit AMA hosted by Ron Garan, the astronaut assuaged fears that astronauts can never find opportunities to self-stimulate on the space station. Despite the overall lack of privacy on board, apparently the ISS is still large enough to find some occasional "quiet time," he acknowledged.

Some private spaceflight companies have already been solicited for the purpose of making porn movies in space, including Virgin Galactic, which turned down a $1 million offer from an unnamed source to make an adult film in orbit. (The irony of this particular company declining to take sex to space is lost on nobody.)

Unfortunately for those who are looking to the stars to spice up their sex life, the odds that research into sex in space will find funding in the near future is pretty remote, at least at NASA. "[Researching sex] is simply not a priority—there are too many more pressing issues about health and function in space," said Wolpe. "Perhaps a private space agency might get funding."

Marjorie Jenkins, a NASA advisor who serves as Chief Scientific Officer at the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health, noted that decreased ejaculation can potentially be a contributing factor to prostatitis, the inflammation and infection of the prostate. (Her own findings on the matter are part of a peer-reviewed paper she co-authored last year that explored reproductive health in space.)

If we can take Garan at his word, it sounds like masturbation at 260 miles up isn't a problem if astronauts are so inclined—and this is a good thing. Numerous studies have shown that masturbation can be good for the individual's psychological health, but there are physical benefits to self-pleasure as well.

When men ejaculate, about one-third of their semen is secreted by the prostate. This prostate fluid is essential for the survival and vitality of sperm. If men ejaculate too infrequently, there is a risk of bacterial build up in prostate, leading to a painful infection. While the discomfort induced by genitourinary infections (such as prostatitis in men or a urinary tract infection in women) may seem trivial compared with the innumerable other risks of space, they have already proven to be an important variable to consider when planning long duration space flights.

The most serious space-based genitourinary problem on record befell Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin in 1985. While on the Salyut-7 space station, Vasyutin, then 35 years old, developed acute prostatitis, a complication that led to extreme fever, nausea and painful urination, forcing him to return to Earth prematurely, only 65 days into a six-month mission. Between 1981 and 1998, astronauts reported 23 cases of genitourinary problems, according to NASA. While this is a relatively small number given that 508 astronauts flew during this time, it is an issue which could have perhaps been tempered had astronauts managed to find a little more "quiet time."

Besides the potential discomfort of sex in space (and the risks of pregnancy associated with it), there's another reason self-pleasure looks preferable to actual, astronaut-on-astronaut action: the simple fact that human sexuality is staggeringly complex. It is a phenomenon that is both physiological and psychological in nature, something that is simultaneously both a biological imperative and a social construction. Although there have been a handful of studies conducted on various aspects of gender interactions, these haven't focused on the intimate kind. That means that taking sexual behavior to space is a risky variable to toss into an already high-risk situation.