More and more people are opening up to the idea that our survival is tied to our ability to become a multi-planetary species. But for this to become a reality, countless technological and biological barriers must be overcome, and we must answer an important question: Can humans make babies in space? Is it?
With the spread of space tourism, there are more opportunities than ever for humans to have sex in space. Thankfully, the private astronaut flights offered so far have been essentially shared experiences, offering little in terms of privacy, and I’d love to be a founding member of the 100km high club There is even less room for passengers who think so.
For better or worse, this status quo is likely to change, especially as the large number of planned commercial space stations begin to enter low-Earth orbit. However, because you are can It doesn’t mean you should do anything.
The reality of having sex in space is likely to be difficult to say the least, and there are obvious reasons why mating in microgravity isn’t a great idea, at least in the short term. First of all, it can get messy, which is a problem in environments like: needs It needs to be kept sanitary, but I’ll leave the details to your imagination.
While not an insurmountable problem, weightlessness also serves to make the act itself more difficult, and the impact sexual relationships have on the social relationships of crew members confined to confined spaces for months on end during long-distance missions. The effects are intolerable. It should not be overlooked. Others have chosen to look beyond the practicalities of the act itself, touting the importance of establishing a controlled scientific approach to the uncertainties surrounding human reproduction in space.
“Access to space is essentially at a tipping point that has become exponentially more available in the last 18 months. Human behavior and competitive human nature cannot be forced,” said a space medicine expert. said Dr. Shona Pandya.be South by Southwest panel discussion on sex in space earlier this year.
“There will be people who will be the first to mate in space, who will be the first to become pregnant in space, who will be the first to give birth in space. If we don’t have an ethical understanding of what would happen if a woman in early pregnancy goes into space, we’re going to have problems later if we don’t understand that. ”
Whether it’s in response to the rise of space travel, the long-term goal of making humans a multi-planetary species, or just pure scientific curiosity, it’s actually possible for humans to make babies in space. Researchers are increasingly interested in whether this is the case.
To date, numerous animal reproductive studies have been conducted in low Earth orbit with varying degrees of success, and in a study conducted on the International Space Station in 2021, early mammalian embryos were It has been shown that it may actually be possible to form a .
Over the next decade, Netherlands-based company Spaceborn United hopes to shed more light on our ability to make babies outside Earth through its Assisted Reproductive Technology in Space (ARTIS) mission program.
“…What is Spaceborn? [United] Our mission is to develop technology for safe, healthy and responsible human reproduction in space,” explained Dr. Angelo Vermeulen, the company’s chief technology officer, in an interview with IGN.
The group will carry out a series of in vitro fertilization experiments in space using a shoebox-sized minilab equipped with its own life support systems, cryogenic refrigeration capabilities and an artificial gravity system that can simulate the gravity of Earth, Mars and the Moon. I’m planning something. .
Spaceborn United’s partners have already developed a prototype of a CD-sized microfluidic disk in which sperm and eggs are mixed together with other hardware, and are working towards a first test flight in late 2024. Before that, the team plans to conduct experiments. The ground testing campaign could see the equipment tested in a European Space Agency centrifuge in the Netherlands.
Here’s how a full-scale ARTIS mission is expected to unfold. First, the minilab is launched into orbit inside a protective capsule, and then a small pump is activated inside the microfluidic disk, transporting sperm to a chamber containing eggs. The fertilized egg is observed in real time with the help of artificial intelligence until it forms a blastocyst, the next step in the embryo’s evolution.. The early-stage embryos are then cryogenically frozen and returned to IVF clinics on Earth for DNA analysis.
The initial ARTIS mission will test various aspects of the system using mammalian germ cells taken from mice, which take about four days from the time of conception to reach the blastocyst stage. After the system is tested on multiple orbital missions, the research team hopes to eventually switch to human germ cells in future IVF experiments.
“We have actually assembled, and are currently forming, an ethics team that can look at the ethics and regulations of how we process human cells and bring human blastocysts conceived in space back to Earth. ” explained Dr. Vermeulen.
On its first test flight in 2024, an early version of Spaceborn United’s hardware will orbit the Earth twice before flying back to Earth with the help of an inflatable heat shield, courtesy of Germany’s Atmos and rocket factory Augsburg. Return to the surface. On that expedition, as on subsequent missions, mouse embryos will be created just before launch, rather than in orbit. While this allows for a lower level of complexity compared to later missions, it introduces a completely different set of complications.
“The biggest challenge is slow access to introduce fresh embryos into the rocket,” Dr. Vermeulen said. “I can’t wait. Basically, these embryos are created right next to the rocket launch, in an IVF clinic at or near the same location.”
Rocket science is an inherently difficult business, with launches often being aborted minutes before launch in the face of technical problems or bad weather, sometimes delaying them by days or even weeks. be connected.
“In our case, this would be a disaster, because the embryo is already developing and will go to space when its development into a blastocyst is almost complete,” Dr. Vermeulen explained. . “The time it takes to collect an embryo, create it, put it in a rocket and launch it into space is about six hours, which is a very short time. That’s a big challenge.”
If all goes according to plan, the next ARTIS 1 mission, currently scheduled for Q3 2025, will see Spaceborn United attempt to orbitally fertilize a mouse egg for the first time in orbit. Meanwhile, ARTIS 2, which has not yet been given a launch window, will introduce sample cryopreservation, bringing the system closer to human cell readiness.
Vermeulen said the automated mixing system being developed by Spaceborn United could one day be used to streamline the manual-intensive IVF treatments performed today.
Humanity has been fundamentally shaped by the gravity of the world in which we have spent billions of dollars evolving. So it seems likely that performing a process as complex as human reproduction and placing it in a zero-gravity environment is likely to result in unforeseen complications. Research being conducted by Spaceborn United and other scientists will help identify potential problems and begin to answer the question of whether it is safe for humans to reproduce in space. .
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video game news for IGN. He has over 8 years of experience covering groundbreaking developments in multiple scientific fields and has absolutely no time for your pranks. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Image credit: SpaceBorn United