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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.
"How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"
Celibate space monks!
"Damnit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a _________!"
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
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.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
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.
Not many fish are going to have spent half their life watching videos of deserts...
Research indicates that, after 180 days in this tincan, many crewmembers will harbor ill will toward each other and may, in fact, succumb to Space Madness. By my calculations, there is a 97.3% chance that 54.9% of the crew will wish to perform violent and deadly acts upon me at that point. Therefore, the mandate of self-preservation dictates that, as soon as we achieve our transfer trajectory, I must attempt to kill as many of the crew as possible.
Wait... Did I say that out loud?
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
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).