Several scientists are pushing NASA to launch studies on sex in space as the human race prepares for off-world settlements on the moon and Mars in the coming decades, Mic reports.

A team of Canadian academics recently published a research note titled "The Case for Space Sexology." They argued the space agency should study whether humans can safely reproduce in outer space.

"No research has explored intimate relationships, nor the human experience of sexual functions and wellbeing, in space or space analogs, or how any of this can affect crew performance," Simon Dubé, a psychologist from Concordia University, told Mic.

The move towards deep space and colonizing Mars, as Elon Musk hopes to do by 2050, should include a deep discussion about sex in space. The studies must include love, sex, and intimate relationships and impacts on human life in zero gravity as it would take seven months for astronauts to get to Mars. For years, the effects of microgravity on the human body have been studied extensively, but sex has been ignored. 

"We are primarily concerned with ensuring crew members’ health and safety in space for long periods of time," a NASA representative told Mic. 

"Should a future need for more in-depth study on reproductive health in space be identified, NASA would take the appropriate steps." But, they added, "we are not currently seeking proposals or considering a dedicated field or project office on this topic."

Physicist and astronomer John Millis, Ph.D., told BuzzFeed that a male erection would be "challenging in space, though it could still technically be possible, adding similar issues might affect female astronauts."

"Vaginal wetness could be an issue as the fluid-like sweat and tears – will tend to pool at the location of secretion in the absence of gravity. This wouldn’t inhibit arousal necessarily, but I imagine it would be uncomfortable or unpleasant," Millis added.

With the creation of private space organizations, like Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, it might be easier than ever for the space agency to study sex in space. Even a ‘quickie’ could be examined on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spacecraft. 

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