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NASA Tackles Ethics of Deep-Space Exploration
TheTony writes "With long-term projects like manned Mars exploration on the horizon, NASA has begun discussing previously taboo subjects. Ethical and practical questions involving illness, death, genetic profiling, and astronaut relations and behavior in space need to be addressed, as NASA begins to consider new policies with these extended missions in mind." From the article: "One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"
Except cute little kittens.
If jettisoning was good enough for Spock then it's good enough for the rest of them.
"One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"
Easy, make a hole in the spaceship at waist height.
Their finger will be too small and there are no Inanimate Carbon Rods to save the day.
-273 degrees of spaceness is enough to dampen the desire of all but the most eager.
liqbase
"How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"
Celibate space monks!
Three simple possible ways, (ranked in order of preference).
...
One, don't send people, send robots.
Two, only send people who do not cling to the outdated notion of monogamy and who are also bi-sexual (or at least bi-curious).
Three, castrate and/or otherwise remove the people's sexual desires (there are chemicals that will do only while they are being taken, and when they are stopped being taken, they stop working and everything goes back to normal). With this one, the chemicals would have to be put in the food, otherwise the folk won't take 'em...
Similarly, with death you can also fix any problems, but
One, sending robots.
I'm sure there are other ways (make sure that everyone is mentally well adjusted and so on), but everyone lies on psych tests. (Read Blue Mars.)
Actually, now I've just read the article. What to do with dead bodies
Feed them back into the organic system, feed them into the power plant, throw them out the airlock. What else is there to do? Keep them in storage until the ship gets back to Earth?
I wank in the shower.
"Damnit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a _________!"
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Actually, it was Saltpeter
-=-Ze End-=-
Yes, they should take a pornstar or two on the mission and licence the movie footage to one of the major porn labels. The sales would probably pay for a major part of the mission. The only problem would be the titles which will be more excruciating than triple anal. Things like, Butt Wreck: Where no man has come before. I serious actually, it would be a good idea, and will probably be done in an orbitting hotel someday. But Nasa is of course too prudish to let it happen.
A: Spend $100,000,000 developing high tech, er, appliances that work in zero gravity, then brace for the ensuing scandal when it emerges that the Russians just used pencils...
Alternatively, recruit more nerds and less jocks. Why not advertise on Slashdot?
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Ahh the million mile high club!
Murphey's fighting Occam, and we're in the stands.
How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?
You mean you don't know?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Just choose astronauts with good hands.
Sex is like bridge, after all. You don't need a partner if you have a good hand.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?
Having put some considerable thought into this matter, I've come to the conclusion that strapping yourselves together with bungee cords would be the best way to cope.
Heinlein had a solution: send couples. Of course, then they cheat on each other, have illegitimate babies, die on mars, their son is then raised by Martians and comes back to earth and starts a cult, and gets stoned to death. On second though, maybe sending couples isn't the best idea.
Modular Redundancy--Because 4 out of 5 Nodes agree
No. Atmosphere blows. A common misconception.
Well one way to handle the sexual desire problems is to neuter them. I would hope that as a people, especially highly trained as astronauts are, that sex isn't going to be a pressing issue for them on a long term journey. Even if so, send married couples, or send singles, don't mix it up. You could also try drugs to suppress the desires as well. It may also depend on the mission as well. One other note, if we as a specie cannot operate sensibly in space, which can include safe sex, they why are we there?
As for critical injuries, these are all professionals, many were test pilots. While some may never have served in the military they already know the risk their profession brings. If you set out the rules ahead of time they will accept their fate should it become an issue. If anything your going to have to deal with more of the non-critically injured wanting to break the rules to save a dieing friend than the other way around.
As for surgery to prevent possible medical complications, thats a mess. You would have to study both the population at large as well as the astronauts family history to see which issues they are prone too.
As for a dead astronaut. Bets are many would prefer to be buried at space if they have no immediate families at home. Still I cannot see why they cannot be ziplocked and stored in a cold but pressurized area of the ship. The only real negative is the emotional stress placed on the remaining crew having a corpse along, a corpse of a friend.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Do what you do to tomcats.
Just put relevant legalese into the astronaut EULA pg 27.
Send geeks into space, everyone knows geeks are too interested in other things to bother about having sex.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
Is it me, or is asking /. for advice on sex like asking a fish for advice on traversing a desert?...
"All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
Not many fish are going to have spent half their life watching videos of deserts...
a million miles relative to the earth maybe... damned theory of relativity always shutting the man down
I, however, suggest a new pseudonym for sex in space: flippity floppity floob
This article details some of the complications that the physics of zero gravity might bring.
The article doesn't cover oral, where bodily fluids are...well...disposed of.....if you're extremely lucky.
BBH
Correct me if I'm wrong (which I probably am), but can't you just tie the dead guy's foot the the back of the craft and drag him back to earth with you? Space should theoretically freeze dry him and somewhat preserve his remains until he could be loaded back into the craft for re-entry. The only problem you have to worry about is make sure he isn't floating outside the window, or floating behind the rocket exhaust.
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
Even on earth it would be a good idea! I could finally get some. On a more serious note, think about all the avoided rapes and the generally better mood at work.
...unless their bunk is right under/above/next-to yours.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Why not on the long trips, send out crews of only gay men?
"Houston, this is Mars One. We have landed, and let me tell you, Mars is FABULOUS!!!"
No, if they want no pregnancy or infidelity causing conflict, they should send people who really believe in family values. Yeah, that's it, send Republicans.
Hundreds of 'em.
Just load 'em into the space ships and launch them off to Centaurus. Or somewhere. Anywhere.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
The women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.
I'm thinking some sort of webcam?
they should take a pornstar or two on the mission and licence the movie footage to one of the major porn labels
Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
handmadehands.co.uk
Send lesbians. No risk of pregnancy occurring in flight, and they can sell the in flight videos to fund the mission.
PS Don't mod this down, I did a lot of research for this post - I downloaded Lesbians in Space and Lesbians on Mars (I also downloaded one that I thought was about Uranus but was quite horrible).
Gentlemen, we cannot allow a mine shaft gap!
Forget diamonds, copyright is forever.
Sex robots. There, I said it.
- Crusadio
Mein Fuhrer! I can walk!!