Scientists Are Terrified Of Space Sex
Just last month, Virgin Galactic completed its first commercial space flight, and we’re not far off from regularly recurring sub-orbital space tourism. As space tourism technology improves, companies like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX will eventually boast longer private trips that will circle around the moon. According to Science Alert, these longer trips may end up posing an issue in the form of space sex at extremely high altitudes, with consequences that we may not have considered at this point in time.
The concept of space sex was once pure science-fiction, but now the act may have serious health risks for humans.
There’s already a working term for having space sex: Kármán line club. This phrase is a playful and modern twist on the tried-and-true mile-high club that we’ve all talked about in the past. While the mile-high club refers to the commercial copulation one would encounter on a Southwest flight if their travel companion is feeling particularly frisky, the Kármán line club refers to getting your groove on after crossing the proposed conventional boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
It’s worth noting, however, that the physical act of space sex isn’t what’s causing alarm, but rather the potential fallout that could potentially come in the form of conceiving a child while in orbit for an extended period of time.
In other words, if space tourism gets to a point where customers are lodging in a space-cabin and performing the horizontal tango in zero gravity for weeks or months, there isn’t currently enough research to tell us whether these circumstances of conception would be safe when you consider the zero-gravity environment or increased exposure to ionizing radiation.
The biggest issue with space sex is what can happen to a child after it is conceivied and starts to grow in a zero-g environment.
We have a long way to go before we consider all of the ramifications of space sex, as the space tourism industry is very much in its infancy. But people are right to be concerned about whether accidentally (or deliberately) conceiving a child in space will lead to developmental abnormalities during the very early stages of human life that follow conception. What’s more, there really isn’t a lot of information out there on whether contraceptives work properly in space environments, either.
From a legal standpoint, Space Tourism companies should probably figure out how to approach the delicate matter of space sex on their ships within the next 10 years. On one hand, it couldn’t hurt to do some research to see if there are, in fact any actual safety risks associated with the act of celestial conception that can be mitigated. On the other hand, should a space tourist have a problematic pregnancy that can be traced back to a sexual encounter that occurred beyond the stratosphere on one of these voyages, there could be legal repercussions.
NASA has decided to reduce the odds of disastrous consequences from space sex by floating the idea of entirely same-sex space crews to Mars.
Considering that space sex and its potential consequences are causing genuine concern, it’s safe to say that human beings are very good at two things: getting it on and litigation. And finding a suitable workaround isn’t necessarily an easy thing to do. Insurance companies aren’t exactly chomping at the bit to take on space tourism due to the obvious risks involved.
Companies like Virgin Galactic have said in the past that their passengers would have to sign contracts that would make them liable for their own safety. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that we will eventually see a space sex clause get drafted as the entire space tourism industry continues to push new boundaries in the commercial flight sector.
