Slashdot Mirror
Sex in Space
Alex Farber turned us on to this story in the January 2000 issue of Scientific American about something NASA never talks about: sex in space. The article says, "Rumors of unofficial orbital couplings abound, but no one is talking." With manned (and/or womanned) Mars missions likely to take 2.5 years or more, and duty cycles on the planned International Space Station expected to be nearly six months, outer space sex is a subject even the most prudish NASA bureaucrats will not be able to avoid much longer. Face it: wouldn't you want to experiment with Zero-G lovemaking if you had a chance to do so - and you had a willing partner available whose curiosity quotient was as high as yours?
Wouldn't the... you know.. love juices go all over the place? :)
>;)
Hrm, first post?
-- BlueCalx | http://nickd.org/
I especially like this:
"...the few who don't like to think about sex, at least not officially."
How do you officially think about sex?
Doc
I'd settle for any sex, actually.
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"They misunderestimated me." --George W Bush, Nov. 6, 2000
Is this a call for volunteers? Sign me up.
this sig limit is too small to put anything good h
I can't get the image out of my head: two would-be Zero-G lovers, rotating in space to get 'aligned' correctly like the docking scene in _2001_.
--
I like sex, personally... I'll admit that ;) but, er, wouldn't the sperm have a hard time getting to its "destination" in the zero gravity? And if it, using the internal forces of Woman, made it, it would have one helluva time fighting to get into that egg... if humans have a hard enough time "swimming" around in space, imagine a sperm? hmmm..
Turned out to be an interesting article about fetal development in zero-G. Not what I was hoping for, though.
In some of the space hotel ventures that I've seen, they talk about the draw being the view, and *ahem* the recreational possibilities of zero-gravity.
To answer your question Roblimo, hell yeah I'd want to try it out!
After living for a couple years in a space station your muscles would be in completely different shape than they were on earth. Even if you worked out regularly there would still be muscle deterioration. It would be more difficult to perform any interesting acrobatics in that condition ;).
With these 2.5 year trips to Mars, If there was a child concieved, would they pack some car-seats in on the spaceship?
Being a blind programmer has its disadvantages too.
crazy dynamite monkey
In all seriousness, with most birth control methods being only 99% effective, the serious question of what to do if conception occurs comes up.
Abortion in space? Imagine the religeous leaders of the world... they'll flip! Even more medically intrusive procedures such as getting a vasectomy (snip snip) aren't foolproof.
It seems to me you'd need some type of handles on the floor(or whatever, it doesn't matter in space), because how do you "push" with no gravity?
So either the crew would have to jury-rig something up, or NASA would have to set up a "love-room" or something. Another interesting question(s): birth control? pregnancies? abortion? birth in space?
If there's a 2.5 year trip to Mars, I don't think it would be all that unlikely for one of the women to get pregnant and potentially have to deliver in zero-g. Of course, the delivery and raising of the child pose all new dilemas(but on the bright side, there won't be any "SIDS" in space).
At least not on a 2.5 year Mars mission. I think you'd want to be pretty damn sure that you didn't wind up pregnant on a 2.5 year space mission... in fact, I wonder if they'd require sterilization beforehand. I mean... nobody knows how well contraceptives would work in zero-gravity, and a pregnancy could be disastrous and/or tragic...
Surely they've contemplated that scenario?
----
... there is an equal but opposite reaction.
In any case, I'm sure the engineer's solution to this problem wouldn't be sex at all, but a 'Net downlink with some pr0n and a little device that would prevent the compartment from getting 'sticky', if you know what I mean.
But seriously, NASA has given us so many improvements for our daily lives, I'm sure that I'll be interested in whatever they have to say about sex.
Maybe they could build a special chamber for it. Get some centrifuge action going on so you have some gravity to work with (otherwise you might have to use some rope...wait, that's not a bad idea!), build a shower system into it to clean things off when you're done...what else can we toss in there?
You do it in your office, with other officials, as a public figure, and at tax payer expense. Numerous politicians and sitting presidents come to mind.
Or you can just publicly and officially declare that you think about sex. Jimmy Carter's public confession that he considered himself an adulturer because he had adulterous thoughts in his heart must surely qualify.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
I, in an effort to further the human race, do volunteer to be one of the "testees" (har) for this noble experiment. I will contribute just about any part of my body that you want in order to help with this interesting, er, thing that you are doing. Just don't tell my girlfriend. Going to Mars, or anywhere outside of Earth for that matter, is a pretty good deal, too. NASA, you can contact me at the above email address. I eagerly await your reply!
I must continue the Slashdot tradition of saying that all of this has been done before.
First of all, because there is frequently more interesting stuff there than here, and these guys need promotion, is that GeekNews posted this article to their website a couple of days ago.
Second, the first married couple in space flew on the U.S. Space Shuttle a few years ago. There was talk of this back then, the official line was that it wasn't going to happen, but if you had the opportunity, would you pass it up? methinks not.
--
E2 IN2 IE?
Remember the ending scene from Octopussy?
Seriously though, there was a married couple on a recent space shuttle flight. You know they had to think about it.
Hush, son, before you make yourself look like you've never had sex before. Condoms don't require gravity. Neither do hormonal shots like Deproprovera. Neither does any of them.
As for pregnancy, you take precautions, and if that doesn't work, you just pack lots of morning-after pills, and if it's too late to prevent implantation, there are other hormone regimes. Medically (chemically) induced abortion has been a reality for thousands of years. I just can't see it helping NASA funding any.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
I remember these urban legends during the time of Apollo 11. Supposedly the mission was "celebrated" with a hearty circle jerk during the return flight to earth. I really didn't believe it then. And I don't believe it now. Who really cares?
They've already tried this.
A couple years ago a married couple went up in the space shuttle and attempted to conceive a child in orbit. She didn't get pregnant though... I guess all the spermies got confused...
...Velcro©!
Pope
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Install cameras and charge pay-per-view. That would get most of America's attention. Hell, you could pay for a lot more than 2.5 years under that funding model.
I can see the headlines now:
"Mons Veneris Explored Near Venetian Mountain"
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
In any case, NASA has invested millions in dealing with bodily fluids, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I'm also reminded of the "zero-gravity toilet" scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick said that was the only joke in the film.
...are we going to see "But seriously..." in this discussion? I've seen at least five in twenty-three comments...
It wouldn't surprise me if astronauts have already had sex on the shuttle or in some space station. I've read female accounts describing how nice it is to be free from gravity's effects for a few weeks. Fat leaves the hips and deposits itself in the breasts, which takes care of two issues that many women worry about. Admittedly, it is less important for an astronaut to have nice breasts than, say, a Baywatch lifeguard, but there you go.
As for sex in space in general, I think that it's an eventuality. (Can you imagine going six months - forget two years - without any kind of sexual release?) It would be wise of NASA to establish a policy, publicly or privately, before the public starts talking about it.
Seems to me that if one wants to experience some zero G sex, just rent the Vomit Comet for an hour. The flight has periods of Zero Gs lasting upwards of 40 seconds at a time which is enough to give one a good feel as to what sex would feel like in zero Gs.
:-)
On an aside, a porno scene I'd PAY to see:
A nude male and nude female jump out of a plane and get it on while falling towards the ground - that would be cool to watch. I'm not sure how they'd slow themselves down...but hey, who cares if the sex is good
Birth control methods are only so reliable, so what would happen if a child were concieved? If a child were concieved, according to current laws as far as I remember, the child would not be a US citizen would it? If conception were to occure, what exactly would happen, an inspace abortion? (Just imagine the debate over that.) If a child were born, it wouldn't grow properly on the way back, 2.5 years each way right? The first 5 years are crucial in a childs development. Returning to earth's atmosphere could be very dangerous for it. If the child was born on Mars, Earth could have its first real Martian visit.
nuff said
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Marissa
A healthy pregnancy is not something to attempt in space. In addition to all the biological problems related to zero-g, you've got the poor medical conditions with which to contend. Even with a doctor, there's no real replacement for a hospital. You wouldn't want to carry all that load just so that you can have a pregnant woman in space.
Gates' Law: Every 18 months, the speed of software halves.
NASA ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGIC VISION
.. not because it is limp, but because it is hard!"
First Porno Made In Space Will Fetch "Billions", Says Administrator Goldin
GREENBELT, MD (UPI) - After suffering several embarassing setbacks, including the loss of the Mars Polar Lander, Climate Orbiter, and XR-2300 Space Modulator, NASA has announced that it has decided to undertake a major shift in its funding paradigm and accept large donations from the private sector. This paradigm shift comes on the heels of sweeping condemnation from several key members of Congress, who have vowed to eliminate the agency from the federal government.
With comments from the readership of Hustler magazine guiding him, NASA adminstrator Dan Goldin laid out a plan to shoot the first space-based pornographic movie. "We are confident," explained Goldin, "that space pornos can provide NASA with the funding that we need to explore the solar system and the rest of the Universe." Goldin continued: "It will make billions!"
And perhaps Goldin is right. The American Taxpayer's Union, a Congressional watchdog organization, conducted a study on the effect of having American pornography revenue pumped directly into NASA. "Our figures indicate," explained group spokesman Terry Schmidt, "that if NASA were to go ahead with this plan, we could build a colony on Mars the size of Cleveland by the year 2002."
Goldin's comments were made at the Press Briefing Room of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. His sentiments are also shared by U.S. president William Jefferson Clinton, who addressed the issue in his annual State of the Union speech before Congress.
"I believe that we as a nation should commit ourselves to achieving the following goals," said Clinton. "First; I believe it should be the goal of this nation to film a porno in space before this decade is out, and return it safely to Earth." Clinton's comments were briefly drowned out by applause. "We choose to film the first orgy in space!" vowed Clinton. "We choose to film the first orgy in space
NASA insiders confirmed that adult film stars Ron Jeremy and Christi Canyon have been signed to a three-film deal with the space agency. The first film, tentatively entitled "Hot And Heavy Weightless Love", will be shot aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in the fall of the year 2000.
"The agency that brought you microwave ovens and Tang is also going to be the agency that brings you the world's first zero-gee cumshot," beamed an ecstatic Goldin. "What a great time to be alive!"
Larry Flynt contributed to this story.
This story contained material unsuitable for children and should not have been read by any individuals under the age of 18.
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
1. You'd expend all your energy just getting out of those heavy spacesuits.
2. It would be difficult to get ol' Mr. Winky in with everything all floating around and stuff...
3. Avoiding getting hit by floating debris while in the act... "Ohhh Yesssssss... OUCH!!!!! THAT $%$#%%$# CHAIR HIT MY ASS!"
4. Cleanup... EWWWWWW
5. Maintaining the position in the 0 G environment, especially tricky if you're doing it doggy style or trying kama sutra positions
6. Contraceptives (Introducing the Trojan Glow-In-The-Dark Anti-Gravity Condom... in Cherry and Chocolate flavors!)
7. What would you do if you were abducted by aliens while getting it on? Even worse, what if they wanted to join in?? I wouldn't mind if Martian chicks were hot, but if they weigh 600 pounds and have slimy acidic tentacles... *shudder*
But hey, it's probably already happened on many NASA missions already. After all floating in a small confined environment in the middle of a space gets boring and lonely, and since NASA is allowing female astronauts now... *uNF* *uNF*
Face it: wouldn't you want to experiment with Zero-G lovemaking if you had a chance to do so - and you had a willing partner available whose curiosity quotient was as high as yours?
Let's face it; that pretty much sums up all heterosexual male fantasies in this culture. Replace "Zero-G" with any other contrived situation, and you have a winner. "Wouldn't it be neat if she let me put it there...." "Wouldn't it be neat if she let us do it with that one too...." "If only I could find a partner who wants to have sex as much as I do!"
But I suppose I shouldn't expect people not to try to combine their primal drives like exploration and sex. And it is just a bit weird how America has made the great technological and cultural leap of putting convents into space, although that probably owes more to military culture than to science.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
the astronauts for this? ;-> ;->
I mean really, think about, NASA doesn't let anything happen in space that hasn't been simulated hundreds of times on Earth in their training facilities. Are they going to rig up some sort of harness and pulley system to simulate 0-G here on Earth? And if they do will I be able to buy one?
"Listen: We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different!" - Kurt Vonnegut
The end of 'Moonraker' featured James Bond and Jaws getting busy with there respective partners, I just wish i could find one like jaws had, mmmm pigtails, but anyways. This led to one of the best lines in a Bond flick ever. They turn on the camera's for the space station, and M, Q, and a host of other brittish officals are watching, one of them asks "What is Bond doing". Q's responce "I believe he is attempting re-entry." A bit commical, but still on topic Duck`
Just no jizzing on the stomach! Like the other guy said, bury it deep and make sure you shoot it deep inside her. :-) Then she can slip her knickers on and hold her legs together for a few hours.
Add some space prostiutes and you have a FOX made for tv movie.
I saw a show a couple years ago that touched on this subject and they even had some examples of devices that would make sex, well, possible in zero gee. One was basically made of two belts that each partner wore that were connected together with an elastic strap that would go between each side of them. I'd imagine that you'd have to keep the straps close and tight since Newton's third could end the session right quick if a strap were to come undone. :)
Deosyne
This post is fabulously funny for what it may imply. Immagine! Two bungie ropes tied to opposite sides of the cabin and arround each participant - what on earth would be push becomes PULL! The prospect of what might happen if either participant 'let go' is to painful to contemplate but it might give a whole new meaning to 'the withdrawal method'.
If your mother or father is a US citizen, no matter where you are born, you are also a US citizen by default. If your parents are NOT US citizens and you are born in the US, you ARE a US citizen.
Obviously 69 gets a lot easier in zero-G. Same goes for anything that was formerly constrained to 2 dimensions. Circlejerks, for example, could go spherical.
I want to officially coin the term "Buckyfuck" to refer to a 60-person orgy. It would require a large chamber, but I'm sure a civilian space hotel might include such a facility.
And for normal sex in space: Don't worry about getting the controls sticky, just cover the panel with a tarp! Lots of velcro, some bungees, handles and toe-holds, maybe a motorized turntable... I'd pay to see the video too. SAREX would get a lot more interesting if we could hear some moaning every now and then.
The hilarious part comes when they have to document their findings in scientific form.
Oh, give me a locus where the gravitons focus, Where the three-body problem is solved...
Where the microwaves play down at three degrees K, and the cold virus never evolved.
Home, home on Lagrange, where the space debris always collects; we've achieved, so it seems, two of man's greatest dreams...
Solar power and zero-G sex.
IUDs are already grossly ineffective and dangerous, so they really shouldn't be up for consideration. The idea of the uterus changing shape and rendering them less effective, however, is absurd.
Diaphrams aren't held in place by gravitational forces; they're held in place by normal forces produced by the surrounding muscles.
If anything, gravity opposes the flow of semen on earth -- the motion is really completely dominated by muscle contractions and osmosis, which would be equally strong in space.
As for whether medical abortion is tragic/traumatic, that depends on either your physical constitution or your political/moral views, both of which are largely unaffected by space travel, at least in ways relevant to this discussion. And in any event, military matters have a tendancy to steamroll over any such complaints. Surely it's a lot more traumatic to swallow a cyanide pill than to swallow a mifepristone pill.
;)
And no you weren't being serious, but it's more fun for me if I pretend you were.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
To advance this initiative, I have decided to help by suggesting some good titles for the eventual space pr0n genre of films. Maybe for publicity NASA could use real astronauts in their films, like have Sally Ride and Jenna Jameson in some lesbo action.
2001: A Sex Odyssey
Alien Anal Assault
Apollo 69
ASStronauts
Ass: The Final Frontier
Close Encounters Of The 69th Kind
Cosmic Cumsluts X
E.T. Gets Nasty
Extraterrestrial Ejaculation
Intergalatic Intercourse III
Jizz On Jupiter
John Glenn: Uncut (note: UGH)
Lunar Lesbos
Oral In Orbit
Ream My Rockets!
Space Shuttle Sluts: The Oral Endeavour
SputDick
Star Whores
The Martian Masturbators
Dear God I have too much free time...
NASA has said they plan to have a woman on the first manned Mars mission. Just in case someone has to ask for directions.
1000 SlashDot sigs
... Gibson's short story "Red Star, Winter Orbit" in Burning Chrome.
But I also wonder how a gerbil in Richard Gere's ass would deal with zero-gee.
k., just another karma gerbil
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." - Anne Frank
.. when you're talking about long-duration space flights (rotations aboard the International Space Station, trips to Mars, etc.) it would be silly to avoid the issue of sex altogether. I mean, let's be honest .. we are human beings, after all, and a period of six months or so is an awfully long dry spell. :-)
;-) Cleanliness is a virtue, after all.
If NASA hasn't specifically addressed and planned for space sex, then you have to hope that at least they've stocked plenty of Kleenex on-board.
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
Advantage: You could sell the porno for a shit load of money.
Disadvantage: When was the last time you saw a good looking woman go on a space shuttle?
drug law enforcement is modern day witch hunting.
Stop it, you're killing me! :-)
We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
It's been done -- in the early 80's, and probably since. Then, it was a tandem jump with a specially-rigged backward passenger harness. Exit was "hooked up," if you catch my drift (it almost has to be -- think of the predictible effect of cold air on the male... or don't think of it. It's not pretty...).
For those on a budget, I recomend practicing underwater, just like NASA does (although, they probably practice different things.) I wonder if you could create a shallow water device where you breath through your nose, in order to keep the mouth free? Anyone know?
And yes, they do have lubricants designed just for that.
Reed
"Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank." --TMBG
But only with other men, becuase I love gay space sex.
-- Went home. Had to feed the kids.
According to G Harry Stine's book "Halfway to Anywhere," getting it on properly in space requires a third person to keep the main event from flying apart. This is derived from how dolphins do it. Therefore, the club for those who have done the deed in zero-g is the three-dolphin club. Apparently there is even a patch (helpfully reproduced in the book), and there are allegedly quite a few astronauts qualified to wear it.
The how many mile high club would that be?
"Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank." --TMBG
according to NASA new reports
-- MM
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
...nevermind all the comments about the married couple and the various women who've been on the shuttle.
:)
Most astronauts come from the military. And the gay population in the military is far higher than in the general population.
I'd be very surprised if the first sex in space had been heterosexual
If I wanted a sig I would have filled in that stupid box.
Supposedly NASA Document 14-307-1792 has documents from a shuttle mission where tests were made. It's probably a hoax, but if it is the person had beuracrat speak down pat.
--
Cecil Adams is, of course, the world's smartest human and the author of the weelky column The Straight Dope.
Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
Oh, fuck sex. And stop with the "regards," with sigs disabled, it looks horrible. I feel justified saying this after your recent sig rant. [oh where oh where has my hyperlink gone, oh where oh where can she be?]
Seriously, there's already a movie by the title "2001: A Sex Odyssey". Sorry. And don't ask.
:)
Would put all the glove manufacturers out of business... And He only knows, we really do need our gloves!
What with all this talk about children being conceived.. eh.. what about giving the austronauts condoms? Just a thought.
-Warren
If we sign up for this project, do we make more than the $5 the psychology department is offering?
-Chris
Is there any data on the effects of weightlessness on ovulation and menstruation? Is gravity needed for the movement of the egg and the discharge of the lining of the uterus?
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Aw hell, I've seen a NASA document relating what to do in case of an attack by Vikings. People at NASA, and the aerospace companies have pretty good senses of humor.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
Does anyone know if this is covered in the Kama Sutra? maybe it needs a re-write......
http://www.idiom.com/~brett/humor/ sex.space.html
It purports to be an actual NASA study performed above one of the space shuttles during one of their nearly 100 flights. It's an interesting and well-written read, even if it is a hoax.
---
I'm not a real anonymous coward, I just play one on TV.
i'd like sex on earth first...
As far as the USA is concerned, if you're born in the USA, or if you're born outside the USA but either of your parents is American, you're American.
-jcr
(Born American, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.)
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
All it takes is a bungie cord. Think about it.
(Incidentally, most astronauts are Engineers. I'm sure this would have been thought up by now, but I still might apply for a patent on it.)
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
That's like the 1,000-Mile-High club or something...
Anyway, what about people renting NASA's "vomit comet" for experimentation? It's that plane they can take to the upper atmosphere and then gently nose down, providing the effect of zero-G for five minutes. Or was it fifteen? That'd be even better. I bet it's much cheaper than a shuttle ride, and suitable for a "quickie" if you did it right.
And it is available for public use, they rented it to film the space scenes in the movie Apollo 13. All I can say is, that would be heck of a good time on your honeymoon.
Which brings up the subject of pornos, as mentioned in an earlier thread. Some of the bigger studios might be able to afford it for their filmmaking projects...
-Smitty
± 29 dB
Well, perhaps they'll let me fly to Mars. I have demonstrated that I can go for long periods (years) without doing it.
They'd have to issue me with stainless steel underpants like in Naked Gun 33 1/3 to discourage those of inferior self-control.
Oh yes, and a stack of jazz mags....
I'm out of my tree just now but please feel free to leave a banana.
Frank: "Bob, is that your cum floating by?" Bob: "Heheheh" Frank: "That's fucking sick, Bob. Clean it up." Linda: "Let me." *slurp* Frank: "I don't wanna be an astronaut anymore."
Frank: "Bob, is that your cum floating by?"
Bob: "Heheheh"
Frank: "That's fucking sick, Bob. Clean it up."
Linda: "Let me." *slurp*
Frank: "I don't wanna be an astronaut anymore."
*nt*
They could recruit people from the old Apollo crews - they are now in their 70s and 80s, so they can handle celibacy :-)
http://www.pornostars.com.ar/star/uranusenter.h
The first adult move with a zero-g scene was the Uranus experiment:
http://www.pornostars.com.ar/star/uranusenter.h
(No explicit graphics or anything at that url but it should still be considered adults only).
In sexual encounter in space, where there is no gravity, and thus no defined sense of up and down as we humans know it, who will be considered to be on top? Will space suits be built with airlocks in the pants? Given that space food comes in little toothpaste tubes, and given that contraceptive jelly comes little toothpaste tubes, how do we prevent mix-ups that cause astronauts to have repasts of nonoxenol 9 and practice family planning with beef wellington?
I'll patent this spring early next monday morning.
Would underwater simulations be useful? Hmm, I should perform some experiments. Maybe I could get a National Science Foundation grant and buy a big hottub. And some wimmenz. And champaigne. Isn't science wonderful?
Well, maybe it won't be heard around the world
:)
but if they are in a weightless state the shot
could float around the world or even several worlds.
Of course there is also the possiblilty the shot would
collide with something yet unknown to man and
create a totally new life form...
please don't take this seriously, we don't want to start a panic
>>>please remove "nospam" from email address
Hmm, I have so much trouble getting any tail here on earth, so why shouldn't I make my best efforts to deny sex to all astronauts (if I were working for NASA)?
No one is getting laid on my shift.
Solomon Kevin Chang
Database Design and Programming
Disney Televentures
"Twice half-assed makes an ass whole." --Solomon K. Chang
So unless you want to take that extra risk, It's just not gonna happen. Granted, mice and rats aren't humans, but the prevailing attitude is that gravity really is an important part in fetal development.
Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.
72656B636148206C72655020726568746F6E41207473754A
...would it reach the Guinness book of records as "longest distance ejaculation"? 20000 km, cool. Nice gun you have there. Erm.
when you drifting in space between Mars and Earth, who goes to get the orange juice afterwards?
Alas gallinaceas de urbe bovis volo
There's still a lot of physiology to determine in microgravity, but nothing I saw from our program, or the Russians' indicates a decrease in fertilty due to a lack of gravity. There were some disturbing embryonic development issues in chickens and rats.
Hey baby, want a Space Food Stick to go with your Tang?
Well, NASA isn't in a hurry, because this too was already done by Soviets. :) We had our Sputnik launched first, we had Gagarin in the space first, we had the Lunohod on the Moon first and many many more. (Except for man on the Moon, but financially the man-on-the-Moon campaign was a disaster for the US)
And Valentina Tereshkova was ordered to have some sex in the space, althougth the whole story wasn't much advertised because of Soviet secrecy and moral standards.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
They just need to invent direct-neural-interface virtual-reality sex. Put on some headgear or pop a pill and you're getting righteously laid, with no chance of anyone getting pregnant or catching a disease.
Come to think of it, there could be a market for this kind of thing on Earth.
It *does* make a perverted sort of sense, after all. :-)
Wouldn't the Republicans cut NASA founding drastically if they found out that their space programme includes provisions for abortion of any sort?
damn.... sex in space could get really messy, really quickly.
Well, when i red this story my thaughts went over the the president of the united states, Bill Clinton, wouldent he just love to have sex with Monica again, but this time up in space. :)
I've long since been a bit of a mild perv in my thirty nine years. Among the literally thousands of places/situations, I've experienced underwater sex. It's rather difficult and quite tiring. Without friction to allow "digging in" to do the good work, that good work cannot be done. While I've experimented w/ tethering, it isn't my preferred, but it would be absolutely required in freefall.
Of course, the fact that it's insestuous lesbian sex between identical twin sisters spices it up, too.
Varley does go for your attention at the opening of a story...the opening sentence of "Steel Beach" comes to mind, ferinstance.
-=Maggie Leber=-
http://www.factsheet5.com/Bypass
"Escape From Gravity Bulletin of the Association of Autonomous Astronauts #1. The AAA launches it's five year plan for establishing global community-based AAA groups dedicated to building their own space ships. 'Space Travel is Necessary - Evolution Implies It', Sex in Space, techno-speedcore space-disco, the Luther Blissett 3-Sided Football League. "Only those that attempt the impossible will achieve the absurd." Plus free balloon. 2 sides A4, 4 1st class stamps for the next 4#s from Inner City AAA, BM Jed, London WC1N 3XX."
Many thanks to fantomas for the URL (he's forgotten his password (again), just come back from another space mission and currently can't log in....
The only Good System is a Sound System
If you're going to do that, you'd better wear a lot of protection (thick rubber glove instead of a condom) and the chick had better take ten birth control pills. Zero gravity causes massive mutations in human children concieved in space. Gravity defines our body structure when we are in the first stages of being born.
"God prevent we should ever be twenty years without a revolution." -- Thomas Jefferson
hah! how did you get moderated up?
:)
:(
, regards,regards,regards,regards,regards,re gards,regards,
sheesh. that's just wrong
stop replying to my posts! karma whore!
you made me lose a karma point and you got one
maybe I'm a karma whore?
regards,regards,regards,regards,regards,regards
so nyah.
-ed
this
...so, what's new?! :-/
"It is more complicated than you think" (The Eighth Networking Truth from RFC 1925)
Of course there has been sex in space. Wasn't there that one time with Troi and Worf?
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Its the light-year high club!
is this slashdot geeks in space or sex in space?? i think there's a typo... havent anyone of you realise this?? i'm very very confused,..
Zontar The Mindless,
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
IIRC, in the Larry Niven et al book Fallen Angels, I think someone had mentioned using velcro... (or, rather, not needing to use velcro if having sex in a gravitational field)
This space intentionally left blank.
An economically destroyed, divided, pitiful country. And look where the US is. Hmm, guess it wasn't such a disaster for the US after all eh?
In microgravity, sperm motility *increases* and the passive movement of the egg is based upon smooth muscle contractions of the Fallopian tubes and uterine wall. Statistically, there might be a slightly greater risk of ectopic pregnancy (outside the uterus - say the Fallopian tubes) which can still kill you due to internal hemorraging, but the major concern is the radiation hazard on the developing cell mass.
Any pregnancy in space had better allow for very good radiation protection and some pretty serious diapers since (particularly male) infants can be pretty effective waste product distributors in three dimensions. As well, I wouldn't want to expose babies to high acceleration for the same reason that Shaken Baby Syndrome is potentially lethal here on Earth even with constant gravity.
Low acceleration, low radiation and good hygene should allow for good pediatric outcomes as long as development itself isn't affected by microgravity. I'd much prefer babies in non-accelerating radiation protected non-microgravity environments for now, at least until microgravity development is better understood. Moon and Martian colonies would be OK, as would any space station that provides the equivalent of at least 1/6th gravity through rotation.
Bondage
Please, please, please post a link to this document as some guys just got off a longboat next to my village and*6$##!@+=)> TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED AT SOURCE
I wouldn't mind traveling through space with Nitrozac. Wouldn't mind spending time under the ocean with Nitrozac either.
Americans may have beat the Russians to space, but I guarantee they've beat the Americans to this... they've had that manned space station up there for a while. How could it NOT have happened?
/\ X | O M
Bob Kanefsky's "Making Love Weighing Nothing At All".
...really bone up on this subject.
but seriously, what is the international perspective? Russia had a real space station before anyone else, and europeans tend to be much more open about sex and friendship than americans.
did men and women crew mir together? i can't remember. not to say there couldn't be gay/lesbian couplings as well, that certainly qualifies as sex.
any of our russian friends care to comment? or anyone familiar with earth's other space programs?
I just got done reading Contact by carl sagan. IN case you haven't read it yet the main character(ellie), gets into a long talk with another one of the main characters about sex in space. he lives in a space station and regularly hires prostitues from earth to "please" him.
it brings to mind some really odd positions. Have you ever seen those movies made by skydivers where they get together into a massive circle? awwwww yeah.....
this is something they should have experimented
:)
with a while ago
Use oil based lubricants before submersion... :)
Well, with the ratio of 'manned' to co-ed flights, I would venture to say they'd been there already. ;-)
Maybe that's why NASA hasn't said much - not only are the astronauts having sex, they're having Grecian male orgies! The shuttle smells of musk and boodie funk! Woo!
The Divine Creatrix in a Mortal Shell that stays Crunchy in Milk
The House Between - Original Sci-Fi Series
It'll be the first televised space mission since the Appollo missions that actually gets good ratings!!!!
But seriously, i'd volunteer for that mission... all in the name of science right?
Opinionated Law Student Strikes Again!
So it appears that they've addressed this point to some degree. It's only a matter of time before (very wealthy) people are able to go into space for pleasure, so sex in space is going to happen eventually...It sounds interesting, really! 8^)
noah
curious how the motions of manual masturbation would cause your body to rotate in zero-g...
IF THE SHUTLLES ROCKIN' DON'T COME KNOCKIN'
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Yeah, I'm a Mac programmer. You got a problem with that?
-- thinkyhead software and media
The super mile-high club? Mile-high2k? The planet-high club? These are issues that need to be addressed!
John
/. finds a way to save the faster, better, cheaper initiative...
the repreated in-out motion forces water up into the woman's cervix and stuff and can cause infection and other side effects.
If ever you have the chance to read "Exit Earth" by Martin Caidin, it has a scene dealing specifically with zero-g sex. It's by no means a literary masterpiece, so I wouldn't go read it just to find out what he wrote about zero-g sex.
That now begs for further questions. How fast would one be propelled forward if they were to "cut the cheese"? Or how much fun would it be to race in the space station while holding onto a vaccuum?
grin.
Sex in space gives new meaning to this term.
They have over a year to find out how its going to be before the end of the Millennium. How many of you actually believe its the end of 1999?? Would you believe its really not till dec 31st 2000?? So why is everyone using that word a year before it actually is the Millenium??
In his Mars trilogy, Ian Douglas addresses this same issue. Instead of the mile high club, the characters at NASA have a "Three Dolphins Club." Apparently, sex in space might be remarkably like sex underwater.
Douglas states that Dolphins often have sex in threes, 2 to do it, and one to sort of be a spotter. I'm not sure of the veracity of his claim, and its relation to animals that have arms for grasping is obscure, but the astronauts in his book apparently decided that groups of 3 was the way to go.
They also remarked that sweat doesn't fall off in zero g, it simply aerosols to fill the room with tiny little droplets.
...but I believe she's some sort of Bible-thumper, based on reported comments made around the time of her mission. :-(
First prostitute in space!
Prostitute hired for the good of Science.\
Astonaughts get jiggy with hired help.
When you think about it prostituion is only illegal on the state level... And there are not states in space.
It's not that difficult of a concept. If two people wanted to have sex, by about the second or third try they would have a method worked out. You just stick it in the out-hole, latch on, and let her rip. Of course now problems may arise. "Love juices" (as Nick so delicately labeled them) would inevitably be all over the place, the friction and likely bouncing would be an interesting task with no gravity to hold you down (or bounce from), and for Pete's sake, what does one do if he hits the wrong button in the act? Assuming everything goes well and you get your business taken care of, cleaned up, etc., you have only one real problem left - conception. The chances of it occurring are slim to none, considering that without gravity the "boys" won't have much to swim through. But then again, it may be easier, considering gravity isn't holding them back. It's all relative though. I don't even remember the actual question that started this. So, if I were given the opportunity to have sex in space, I'd give it a "Hell yes!" and move on with my life. NEXT!
"No no shit head 'Throttle' up, THROTTLE. Oh fuck..." boom. crackle.....
Got to admit it would be a pretty select group. Thats got to be some serious bragging rights.
I'm not sure if the guy is serious (about the sex part :-) but it sure does sound interesting. I was not sure wether to laugh or take it at face value.
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If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it.
At the risk of coming off as a quack, I'm considering doing my senior thesis on altered G biology (trust me, I'm not offtopic). I need to find some small or micro organisms and mate them, or simply perform an artificial selection with an asexual species under hypergravity. My method will be to centrifuge them for months, building to a crushing force and see how they adapt. (I promise I won't use and mammals or anything higher than a worm). As for sub-one-G forces, that'll be tricky without a space shuttle. I'm sure my school doesn't have one. If anyone from NASA reads this and is excited, please contact me. Or go ahead and steal my idea, that's the trendy thing to do these days.
Well of course we would, don't be ridiculous.
Then again, Face it: wouldn't most slashdot readers like to experiment with _any_ lovemaking, if they had the chance to do so - and a willing partner whose curiosity quotient was as high as theirs?
Perhaps animals are more adaptable, but perhaps not. I'd say that pregnancy without at least _some_ spin-based gravity would be a seriously bad idea - the risk of bad fetal development is compunded by the difficulty of medical care during pregnancy and birth. Certainly not safe to do it until tests on monkeys have worked, and we shouldn't do them until lower animals like guinea pigs have worked.
On the other hand, sex in space sounds just fine :-)
* Or maybe it was "down from up"....
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
But most space flights have been pretty heavily monitored - they'd at least have turned the radios off for a while :-)
Not really much different than being born on a ship.
I think that this is actually going to cause a lot of problems on future long-term missions... Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson explores this quite well... Can you really expect a mixed crew not to have sexual urges over 6 months, let alone the 2.5 years it might take to complete a mars mission?
I've got a better idea: make it a requirement that the guys get vasectomies -- it's a much easier surgery to preform and therefore a lot less stupid of an idea.
For the two or three here who may not have read it, read Robert Heinlein's classic "Stranger in a Strange Land." I'd also recommend "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Friday." One of his other works (don't remember offhand) talked of lunar hotels with huge rooms where visitors could strap on wings and fly around in the low-G. THAT would be even funner than 0-G sex.
Damnit! I was eating! Now I've got to mop the puke out of the keyboard.
Please, never, ever bring HER uo again.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
ok, pause for a moment, and imagine being cooped up in a metal tube, probably not much bigger than a submarine. say you have 12-20 crewmates, and just for kicks lets assume that your crewmates are a 50/50 male/female split (that's 6-10 females and 6-10 males, not a bunch of quasi-hermaphrodites, for the sticklers out there).
ok. you are now 13 months into your 30 month mission, and, sadly, you are horny as hell (male or female, honestly, it doesn't matter, and anyone that says it does in a small 20 person microsociety like this needs to read up). Even without the presence of alcohol, most body attractiveness concerns will fly right out the window at around 2 or 3 months into the mission.
So. here we are. is anyone gonna try and tell me now that sex wouldn't happen? repeatedly? (the rules about crewmembers having sex in piers anthony's 'ghost' and 'bio of a space tyrant' series just seem a matter of common sense).
really think here, it's one thing to be celibate for a year or more, but quite another to try and be so while in continued contact with the same 10 members of the opposite sex, eating together, working together, running treadmills, etc.
The mere exposure effect is a (testable) theory in social psychology that states, (plainly) the more we are exposed to individuals (that we do not for other reasons strongly dislike) the more we will 'like' them, and favor their company. (there have been experiments with college students being better friends gradually with those living closer to them in a dorm).
Seriously, these crewmates are gonna bone the heck out of each other, like crazy.
it might make real sense for NASA to consider STD testing pre-mission, and packing lots of birth control...
semantics are everything!
whatever the conclusions, I'm running out to register www.ourfirsttimeinspace.com right now. :P -Buckthorn
One of the modes of operation is indeed prevention of implantation. Not the only one though.
From www.plannedparenthood.com:
"The Pill" is the common name for oral contraception. There are two basic types-combination pills and progestin-only pills. Both are made of hormones like those
made by a woman's ovaries-estrogen and progestin. Combination pills contain both hormones. Progestin-only pills contain only progestin. Both kinds of pills require
a medical evaluation and prescription.
Both kinds of pills are intended to prevent pregnancy. But they work differently. Combination pills usually work by preventing a woman's ovaries from releasing eggs
(ovulation). Progestin-only pills also can prevent ovulation. But they usually work by thickening the cervical mucus. This keeps sperm from joining with an egg.
Combination pills also thicken cervical mucus. Both types of pill may also prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus (womb).
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
heh.