Inhabiting the moon and Mars sounded like a dream but now it might be a nightmare.
A new study shows that male sperm and female eggs don’t make a sustainable reproductive match in weightlessness.
Scientists took samples of the ingredients for fertilization from humans, pigs and mice (respectively) and tried to join them together in a weightless atmosphere to see if they would reproduce offspring.
What they found is that gravity such as we experience on earth is necessary for the fertilization process to work.
In what’s known as an atmosphere of microgravity the sperm and eggs just didn’t mesh properly.
Development was either delayed or simply didn’t work altogether.
The upshot bodes ill for conception in space and you know what that means – no baby astronauts.
The lack of procreation may keep us grounded for the time being, sad to say.
If we can’t make babies in a gravity-free environment it means colonizing space translates to human extinction.
“Houston we have a problem.”
Living On The Moon And Mars – Maybe. Making Babies? ‘Houston We’ve Got A Problem’
By Ted Cohen
Young people with lots of time to spare, gymnastic abilities only possible in zero gravity, and absolutely no chance of a pregnancy resulting? What do you think is going to happen???
I just hope someone thinks of padding the walls, ceiling and floor because otherwise people will get hurt…
Artificial gravity by spinnning the spaceship will address this, needed for health anyway. The moon and planets have gravity as well. So not an actual problem.