Researchers should urgently think about how humans can reproduce in space, experts have said.
As humanity looks towards living beyond Earth, we need to understand how human reproduction will actually happen, they say.
But despite the fact that the question has moved “from abstract possibility to practical concern”, there are still no clear standards for managing human fertility and reproductive health in space.
Those are the conclusions of a new study, bringing together nine authors who are experts in everything from reproductive health to space medicine, which proposes a new framework for understanding how humans can reproduce in space.
There is a host of known challenges already, they note, based on the fact that space is a “hostile environment” for human life. That includes the changes in gravity, increased radiation and disruption to sleep cycles – all of which can affect reproductive health.
There is a danger that we will continue to explore space without examining these questions, they warn, meaning that we should address them before they become truly practical concerns. Usually, reproductive technologies are introduced incrementally and with our understanding often coming after the fact – and that should be avoided in our exploration of space.
“As human presence in space expands, reproductive health can no longer remain a policy blind spot,’ said Fathi Karouia, senior author of the study and a research scientist at Nasa. “International collaboration is urgently needed to close critical knowledge gaps and establish ethical guidelines that protect both professional and private astronauts – and ultimately safeguard humanity as we move toward a sustained presence beyond Earth.”
The report, ‘Reproductive biomedicine in space: implications for gametogenesis, fertility and ethical considerations in the era of commercial spaceflight’, is published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online.
