US EditionSpace tourism raises ‘urgent’ fertility questions, NASA scientists say
A report urges international guidelines to address reproductive risks from radiation and microgravity as space tourism and missions increase, with experts highlighting critical knowledge gaps.
- On Tuesday, a report in Reproductive BioMedicine Online led by Dr. Fathi Karouia, senior NASA scientist, warns space tourism's effects on human fertility, pregnancy and early foetal development remain dangerously underexamined.
- Commercial space operators and growing tourism increase exposure as short suborbital flights, longer private missions, and planned lunar bases raise chances of in-space conception, the authors warn.
- Animal experiments and lab studies show radiation and microgravity damage gametes and embryos, with human long-duration data remaining scarce, Palmer said.
- The authors call for an international framework and an industry ethics review board, using non-human models, assisted reproductive technologies and automation, and ethical guidelines while stressing they do not advocate reproduction in space.
- Long-Term stakes include prolonged exposure causing cumulative reproductive damage and epigenetic heritable risks, while NASA supports gamete preservation amid crewed lunar missions and colonization planning.
8 Articles
8 Articles
Reproduction in space, an environment hostile to human biology
As commercial spaceflight draws ever closer and time spent in space continues to extend, the question of reproductive health beyond the bounds of planet Earth is no longer theoretical but now "urgently practical," according to a new study published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online.
Space becomes a habitat. Why reproduction becomes a medical and ethical risk there, shows a new study. The article Reproduction in space: The risk that hardly anyone talks about first appeared on ingenieur.de - Jobbörse und Nachrichtenportal für Ingenieure.
Exploring Human Reproduction in Space: Challenges of a Hostile Environment
As commercial spaceflight inches closer to becoming a reality, the implications of human reproduction in outer space are transforming from theoretical musings into urgent considerations. A groundbreaking study emphasizes that the intersection of space travel and advancements in assisted reproductive technologies
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