Squirming in Orbit: NASA Sends Sperm to Space

May 2, 2018

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The mission to enable the human race to procreate off Earth continues.
This month NASA sent what might, at first, seem an unusual payload to the International Space Station (ISS): a selection of sperm, both human and bovine.

But NASA’s Ames Research Center, which is behind experiment Micro-11, has a good, and perhaps an even noble explanation. According to a press release, the endeavor is part of an investigation that could be “the first step in understanding the potential viability of reproduction in reduced-gravity conditions.”

Measuring sperm squirming

In particular, Micro-11’s goal is to measure how microgravity affects a key part of human reproduction: the ability of sperm to successfully swim to and fertilize an egg.

So far previous experiments using sea urchin and bull sperm seem to indicate that being in orbit actually causes sperm to swim faster than on Earth. However, fertilization occurs more slowly, if it happens at all.

Frozen for shipment to the ISS, astronauts will then thaw out the samples and expose them to a chemical agent, which will cause the sperm to start squirming. The sperm’s speed will be measured with the help of microscopes hooked up to video equipment.

Birth in space

Space, as we have talked about previously, is far from hospitable to humans—and even less so for reproduction.

Beyond shielding against radiation, special exercise techniques to prevent bone loss, and even medications to increase the possibility of fertilization, there is also the idea of using robots as surrogate mothers.

Another hypothetical option to ensure reproduction in space is to genetically tweak future astronauts: boosting their reproductive systems in such a way as to give them better chances of having children on extremely long spaceflights.

Meanwhile, NASA is continuing to ship sperm to space, and with each experiment adding data toward a better understanding of human reproduction—and perhaps leading to the first human not born on our planet.

Image sources: The University of Kansas/Joseph Tash, NASA

M. Christian

M.Christian (they/them) loves nothing better than exploring the intersections of sex and technology—and speculating on the future of both. A highly regarded erotica writer they have six novels,12 collections, 100+ short stories, and 25 anthologies as an editor to their name. Their non-fiction regularly appears in many sites, but they're most proud of being a regular contributor to Future of Sex.

Of their erotic fiction, Tristan Taormino said that “M.Christian is a literary stylist of the highest caliber: smart, funny, frightening, sexy—there's nothing [they] can't write about… and brilliantly.”

Reflecting their unique ability to sympathetically and convincingly write for a range of genders and sexual orientations, their stories have appeared in multiple editions of Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, The Mammoth Books of Erotica, and others. Their collection of gay erotic fiction, Dirty Words, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

While a majority of their stories have been collected into books like Dirty Words, their fondness for combining sex and science fiction is clearly evident in collections that include Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, Skin Effect Effect, Bachelor Machine, and Hard Drive: The Best Sci-Fi Erotica of M.Christian.

As a novelist, M.Christian’s versatility is on full display with Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Brushes, Painted Doll; and the somewhat controversial queer BDSM/horror/thrillers Finger's Breadth, and Me2.

M.Christian has worked on the industry’s production side as an Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books and as a Publisher for Digital Parchment Services. The latter dedicated to celebrating the works of science-fiction legends such as William Rotsler, Jerome Bixby, Jody Scott, Arthur Byron Cover, Ernest Hogan, and James Van Hise.

Covering topics like BDSM safety, sexual education, senior sexuality concerns, queer and gender issues, plus reviewing a variety of sex tech products, M.Christian’s non-fiction has appeared on sites like Kinkly, Tickle.Life, Sexpert, Queer Majority, Sex for Every Body, and—of course—their ongoing work for Future of Sex.

If there’s anything M.Christian enjoys more than writing, it’s teaching. A featured presenter, sometimes with their friend Ralph Greco Jr, at national sex and BDSM events, they have lectured on kink play (with an emphasis on safety), polyamory, boosting sexual creativity, and erotica writing--for beginners or those wanting to go pro.

M.Christian is a cohost on two popular sex-education podcasts: Love’s Outer Limits with Dr. Amy Marsh and Licking Non-Vanilla with Ralph Greco, Jr.