Last month, Nasa advisor Dr Jason Kring called for the US space agency to prepare astronauts for sex in space. 'A round-trip mission to Mars could take three years,' he points out. 'We shouldn't assume these men and women will have no thoughts of sex.' He suggested privacy should be factored into the design of spacecraft and that astronauts follow the example of polar explorers and take 'expedition spouses' with them.Nasa is silent on the issue, beyond the curt: 'We don't study sexuality in space.' Yet mixed-sex crews have been in space for more than 20 years, with a married couple flying on a US shuttle in 1992. Rumours abound that the Russians have studied 'human docking procedures' in Earth's orbit.
'When female astronauts went up to the Mir space station, there were stories circulating in the former Soviet Union that astronauts did have sex in space - which were never denied,' says Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic.
Possibly problematic
Richard Branson's space tourism venture is due to start test flights this year. 'We've already had a number of inquiries from people about whether they could be the first to have sex in space,' says Whitehorn. 'But we haven't accepted any bookings on that basis and won't until we understand what the safety issues might be.'
Hooking up in zero gravity could present problems. 'Theoretically, it's difficult to do in a weightless environment,' explains Whitehorn. 'You've got the mass of a human body but no gravity to stop you being thrown in any direction. Two people flinging into each other could have interesting consequences - particularly for the male organ.'
Space babies
In some shuttle flights, males have shown a decrease in testosterone level and sexual drive, while astronauts who spend a long time in space also lose bone density, leading to fears that a baby conceived in a weightless environment could be born with brittle bones, unable to cope with Earth's gravity. Dr Logan believes reproduction in space is woefully under-researched: 'After 47 years of space flight, we have yet to see a mammal go from copulation to birth, growth and then reproduction by the next generation.'
For now, though, we may be otherwise occupied when we lift off. 'If you've decided to undertake the adventure of seeing our planet from space, something only 470 people have done, you'll be taking in the experience of weightlessness and the beauty of the planet,' says Whitehorn. 'Sex is not going to be the first thing on your mind.'
Tokyo-based Eri Matsui organised The Space Couture Design Contest in 2006 to look into the possibilities of spacewear. She designed the Zero-G bridal gown, which, apparently, hangs perfectly with or without gravity.
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