Is sex possible in space

In fact, German astronaut Matthias Maurer usually gives interviews with ease and answers any questions from journalists who have been attacking him lately. And only one topic confuses the astronaut: sex in space. "We've never talked about it before, because we're at work," Maurer answers DW's question about whether the astronauts talk to each other about sex.

But not only professional astronauts fly into space. More amateurs are being sent into orbit through private companies these days than ever before.

It is clear that sexuality is an integral part of nature. At the same time, according to NASA, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, not a single person has ever had sex in space.

"If we're serious about deep space travel, we need to know more about intimacy in space," said bioethicist Paul Root Wolpe, who has worked at NASA for 15 years, in an interview with DW.

However, as it turned out from a conversation with Matthias Maurer, during the training of astronauts for space flights, questions related to sex in space are never raised. Saralyn Mark, a former NASA medical consultant, says this is a mistake. "If we recognize sexual health as a core part of our physical well-being, then it's important to understand the position we're putting people in," she says in an interview with DW.

It's no secret that sex and masturbation have a positive effect on our mental and physical health. Orgasms have been shown to relieve stress and improve sleep quality, which can be especially beneficial during energy-intensive space flights.

The mission, during which the matter could come to intimacy, took place in 1992, when the NASA Space Shuttle Endeavor went into space with a married couple on board. Astronauts Mark Lee and Jan Davis met and fell in love while working for NASA. The year before the flight into space, they got married.

American astronauts Mark Lee and Jan Davis (1992) American astronauts

There is very little information about the characteristics of sex in space. But it is known that in conditions of weightlessness, libido decreases. This is due to the fact that weightlessness changes the human hormonal balance: the level of estrogen decreases, and this can lead to a decrease in sexual desire.

Much of our knowledge of hormones in space comes from tests done on male astronauts. This is because only 11.5 percent of all astronauts are women. The few women who have been in space so far have taken special pills to avoid menstruation. Perhaps their intake also affects the level of hormones.

Our internal clock is another aspect that can affect libido in space, points out Saralyn Mark. "In a situation where you orbit our planet every 90 minutes, your sleep-wake rhythm changes. Perhaps this is reflected in libido," says a former NASA medical consultant.

Ulrich Walter's personal experience reinforces scientific hypotheses. In his book, the German astronaut writes that during the 10-day stay in space, he did not experience any sexual attraction.