A sperm bank in space could be a giant leap towards populating new planets, Spanish study says
- Researchers suggest it is possible and teams of female astronauts could reproduce in space
All-female astronaut crews could reproduce in space without the help of men, new research suggests.
The study found that frozen samples of sperm exposed to microgravity retained similar characteristics to sperm samples kept on the ground, raising hopes a sperm bank could one day be set up in space to help populate new worlds.
This could prove interesting for female astronauts, amid reports that future missions to Mars may involve women-only space crews.
Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, said at a conference in 2017 there had been an unreleased Nasa report exploring sexual desires of space crew members during potential missions to Mars. Sharman said the report recommended space crews of the same gender – “all men or all women” – because they have better team cohesion.
Findings from the small preliminary study, involving sperm from 10 healthy donors, suggest “the possibility of creating a human sperm bank outside of Earth” exists, according to the researchers.