

Sometimes I wonder to myself, "Why does NASA have to be so mindbogglingly conservative all the time?"

Well this morning I got my answer: taxpayers in the Midwest. The Rapid City Weekly News in South Dakota published an editorial response to Space.com's 'Sex in Space' article last week. The editorial concludes, "the public has a right to know that tax dollars won't be funding fornication in the new frontiers."

Sigh. These guys are definitely not making it any easier for NASA to shift their stance on sex.

The Space.com article quoted NASA spokesperson Bill Jeffs of the Johnson Space Center in Houston saying, "We don't study sexuality in space, and we don't have any studies ongoing with that. If that's your specific topic, there's nothing to discuss."

Seems a little abrupt for a topic that could be critical to the long term survival of the species. As a biologist I think all of this aversion to sex is a little too parochial.

Given that the goal of human space exploration at the moment is the development and settlement of space it is important to know how microgravity affects egg fertilization and embryonic development. To date we have done vanishingly little, especially with mammals, and most work has stopped in the United States (though France, Japan, Russia and others have done interesting work with fish and amphibians.)

Even if you are just talking about recreational sex, sex is a part of life and not something NASA needs to hide from. No one is asking NASA to regulate the sexual activities of their flight directors. We expect these professionals to mange their own lives and if there is a problem (any type of problem) that impacts their performance at work, that is when an employer steps in.

The Space.com article points out that sexual relationships on crews wintering over at the South Pole station are part of the culture there. My favorite quote comes from a post of someone who spent time working in Antarctica:

Take any group of people. Isolate them. Put them under stress. Sooner or later... some of them will have sex. It happens irrespective of race, creed, or gender...We all know this. Ask anyone who's done submarine duty. Ask anyone who's done a military tour of any kind. Ask anyone who's been on an expedition. People are people and always have been.

Beyond the taboo of sex with colleagues and a concern for what taxpayers will think, there is a concern for the potential complications romantic or sexual relationships can could raise for a long duration space crew.

However, the reality is that jealousy, anger, and hostility can endanger a crew even if there is no romance involved. Banning sex will not protect crews from those types of conflicts. Better to train the crews to be able to work through any issue that comes up on the mission and insure that they have sufficient support on the ground that they trust. When you know you have a responsible crew that can work through anything, you don't have to worry about legislating every action.

Perhaps a better answer Jeffs could have given was, "We don't study human sexuality in space, and we don't have any studies ongoing with that. We do ask our crews to be responsible and professional and to carry themselves in a way befitting of a U.S. astronaut. The long term health and safety of our crew is our primary concern."

For Better or Worse, Sex in Space is Inevitable [Space.com]

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Photo courtesy of cool Flickr user Flynnwynn