Some of the practicalities have certainly undergone preliminary testing closer to home.
Shortly after Ron Howard filmed in free fall aboard the old "Vomit Comet" for Apollo 13, it was used again by film-makers from an entirely different school of cinematography. At the time, this prurient "first" appeared as a filler item in science magazines and late-night TV news programmes.
But the parabolic flight of the Vomit Comet produced free-fall conditions for only twenty or thirty seconds at a time, so I very much doubt if there was time to explore all the issues mentioned here.

Grant Hutchison

So when there are no facts available, the discussion turns to wild speculation???

Unbelievable!!!

I'm out of this thread before I say something I would regret...

RAF you are probably right. After this many years, NASA would have released something indicating an "experiment" took place, if not the actual details.

NASA flight directors probably just sort of told the crew to give the couple a little privacy for some time, "off the record".

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http://boinc.mundayweb.com/one/stats...033/prj:6/.png

Not if you stay on the tightrope. :wink: Here's my G-rated speculation: This issue will be addressed at some point in the future during long missions although I don't think it has yet (can't speak for Soviet missions). Human ingenuity is not to be underestimated. An area put aside for such activities & sleeping bag would be sufficient.

<gets off tightrope>

Blimey- judging from your responses, anyone would think sex was in some way bad or wrong.

I can empathize with R.A.F.'s angst. It is hard to comment on this topic here .. sorta like walking on egg-shells with high heels (read my prior post here? .. sheesh - fluff). Sex is fine , it will happen in space eventually, but one has to be careful here. Imagine your kid reading this board. My kids are old enough, but that's not always the case. My advice? - post like there's an inquisitive kid checking out this board.. because there is.

I don't know if it has been done or not, but if someone can arrange to get me on a shuttle flight I will perform the experiment and report back!

(any excuse for a shuttle flight realy! )

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The meek will inherit the earth ... the rest of us will go to the stars.

The mission they(the married couple) were on, had a pressurized life sciences experiment module in the cargo bay. They had way more room available on the shuttle during that flight than during normal flights.

Since I was addressed directly, I'll post one more time, and hopefully clear up any misconceptions as to what my opinion actually is.

Nothing could be further from the truth. And the evidence to "prove" that comes from none other than our own Bad Astronomer.

My Wife and I went to see the BA give his "face on Mars" talk last year at Mt. Tam. We sat in the back of the audience where we "cuddled". The BA (scientist that he is) noticed us and made a point of commenting on our "cuddling". ops:

So I have no problem with sex...and on the 18th of this month, my Wife and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary!

So...that's not the problem I have with this thread...

While this is a concern, this is the BA's board...if he sees something that he doesn't like he will simply lock the thread...

So that's not the problem I have with this thread...

The problem I do have with this thread is the fact that some posters have decided what they "think" has been going on in space based on nothing but their own imaginations. There are absolutely no facts to back up these "imaginings", which IMO, means that there is really nothing to discuss. This thread is just idle gossip.

That might be fine for some...but I come to this board to discuss reality, not fantasy.

That's the problem I have with this thread...I hope that clears things up as to what my opinion actually is...

Hmm .. I don't see it that way R.A.F. While I wouldn't have started this thread for the reasons touched on in my prior post, I don't see where this thread is like Entertainment Tonight nor do I see anything wrong with speculation as long as it's not presented as fact. What people "think" is what makes bulletin boards .. bulletin boards.

I'm glad to hear that...it would be kinda boring if we agreed on everything...

I agree. :wink:

Bo - ring... 8)

Anyone who's done it while floating in a pool knows the answer to this, and pool-water provides more resistance in both directions that air!

In short, yes. Coitus in space is possible.

In Niven's "Known Space" stories the "maternity asteroid" was not Ceres, but a much smaller asteroid named Confinement, hollowed-out and spun for gravity. IIRC, it was 1/2 G.

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Fiction has to be plausible. Reality is under no such constraint.

Would zero G have an effect on the rate and timing at which blood engorges and later disgorges from the spongy tissues? The rate of axon firings may be insufficient to arouse the pleasure center to completion, or alternatively the feedback may be too much to endure.

Even on Earth, some overly-endowed men or unfortunates who suffer from priapism may actually faint or go into shock from "loss" of blood from the body's core or from over-excitement.

I for one am up for developing zero G techniques.

What a great topic.

The difficulty as I see it is the oscillating type movements necessary for adequate stimulation. The push of these movements will cause the participants to drift apart. The participants could use their limbs to stay together. The problem is the limbs are not as strong as the larger muscle use for the pushed. This asymmetry would be very exhausting.

One proposed solution has been to use elastic aid that helps the arms keep up. A typical elastic materials performance may not be what is called for. The typical rhythm is slow and forceful. Elastics may be able to duplicate this but the will provide the least force at the point greatest length (top of the stroke) when the greatest force at the shortest length (bottom of the stroke) may be desired. The material will then have to release at this shortest length.

This elastic aid will need to accommodate the variations changes in position, speed, and force the participants want to experience.

Enough of the problems lets talk about the possibilities.

Positions that only the most fit and practiced can achieve would be available to all.

Consider the effect of not being constantly stimulated by you contact with the bed. What effect will this have on ones awareness of the specific stimulation of the act?

Imagine the visual stimulation of seeing the object of you affections in buff free fall.

What incredible foreplay potential. Imagine playing catch me in zero G with a tether if they are too agile to catch otherwise.

How about a game of space station docking.


Imagine the visual stimulation of seeing the object of you affections in buff free fall.

What incredible foreplay potential. Imagine playing catch me in zero G with a tether if they are too agile to catch otherwise.

I think this has gone far enough.

Folks, I am the last person on Earth anyone would call a prude, but I will remind all you that this is a family-friendly site.

We're done here.

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Phil Plait
The Bad Astronomer
http://www.badastronomy.com
badastro@badastronomy.com