College Times

Gigitty-Gigitty!

If there's one thing better than sex, it's got to be space sex. That's right, sex in outer space.

With all the babble over the Japanese firm First Advantage and the US-based private spaceflight firm Rocketplane Global Inc.'s recent announcement of their plans to host weddings in space for a hefty $2.3 million, sci-fi geeks and science journalists alike can't help but wonder about the possibility of intergalactic planetary penetration and out-of-this-world orgasms. Will couples who exchange vows in outer space exchange bodily fluids as well?

While NASA has no information to offer up about close encounters of the sexual kind among astronauts, science journalist and author of "Sex in Space," Laura Woodmansee, suggests, "The Sex-in-Space revolution is about to begin," say in oh, a decade or so, "honeymoons in space and out-of-this world sex will be a reality."

But wait. Is consummating in the cosmos even possible?

Tempe resident, Dylan Roush, says hell yeah. "Anything is possible with a little creativity and imagination. If you want to have sex bad enough you will."

Woodmansee believes the key to men blasting off their rockets in space and women experiencing a starry-eyed surprise starting with the letter "O" is managing a microgravity environment. In "Sex in Space," she describes in detail several possible positions that can induce orgasm and send you into a blissful orbit around the sun, one of which is "the modified missionary position" to seated with "interlocking Y legs." Props also could come into play, including a shared elastic waistband or tethers to hold one partner to a stable structure, she writes.

Although one problem for couples may be, as Roush suggests, "Paying attention to each other when there is so much cooler shit to look at."

Some researchers suggest another problem; according to Foxnews.com, "Small groups tapped for lengthy space stints will likely experience related psychological effects. For instance, trivial annoyances could become divorce-level issues for couples. [On the other hand] other interactions are likely to be far more enjoyable."

Jason Kring of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida also points out to Foxnews.com in an interview, "[There could be] possibly negative consequences of pregnancy in a microgravity environment."

"Men and women in their childbearing years will need to be careful not to conceive a child while in space since it may be dangerous to the mother and baby," Woodmansee says. "Based on animal experiments, we know that fetal development is affected in space. Bones, muscles (including the heart) and neurology will simply not develop properly without Earth gravity. We also know that human hormones and even sperm motility are affected by the lack of gravity. Radiation is a serious problem, too, even in Earth orbit where our magnetic field protects us somewhat."

While much remains unknown about the effects of having sex in the solar system, one thing is certain, Woodmansee writes, "Sex in space will happen, and therefore it's a legitimate topic to explore. The sex drive is a basic part of our nature. It drives sex and love, the expansion of our families, and even our exploration of the unknown. We can't afford to be ashamed of sex. That will only prevent us from looking into the risks and possibilities. If we are to follow our hearts and create a civilization in space, we will need to address the possibilities of sex and reproduction in Earth orbit and beyond. Think about it, the first space babies will be space aliens in some ways."

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