NASA Tackles Ethics of Deep-Space Exploration

TheTony writes "With long-term projects like manned Mars exploration on the horizon, NASA has begun discussing previously taboo subjects. Ethical and practical questions involving illness, death, genetic profiling, and astronaut relations and behavior in space need to be addressed, as NASA begins to consider new policies with these extended missions in mind." From the article: "One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"

Masturbation never hurt anyone.

[tripler6]

Except cute little kittens.

Use the air lock

[WrongSizeGlass]

If jettisoning was good enough for Spock then it's good enough for the rest of them.

How to handle...

[LiquidCoooled]

"One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"

Easy, make a hole in the spaceship at waist height.
Their finger will be too small and there are no Inanimate Carbon Rods to save the day.

-273 degrees of spaceness is enough to dampen the desire of all but the most eager.

Easy.

[Xest]

"How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"

Celibate space monks!

How to deal with sexual desires?

[apathy maybe]

Three simple possible ways, (ranked in order of preference).
One, don't send people, send robots.
Two, only send people who do not cling to the outdated notion of monogamy and who are also bi-sexual (or at least bi-curious).
Three, castrate and/or otherwise remove the people's sexual desires (there are chemicals that will do only while they are being taken, and when they are stopped being taken, they stop working and everything goes back to normal). With this one, the chemicals would have to be put in the food, otherwise the folk won't take 'em...

Similarly, with death you can also fix any problems, but
One, sending robots.
I'm sure there are other ways (make sure that everyone is mentally well adjusted and so on), but everyone lies on psych tests. (Read Blue Mars.)
Actually, now I've just read the article. What to do with dead bodies ...
Feed them back into the organic system, feed them into the power plant, throw them out the airlock. What else is there to do? Keep them in storage until the ship gets back to Earth?

Send an M.D. along

[$RANDOMLUSER]

"Damnit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a _________!"

Re:How to handle...

[Random BedHead Ed]

That's it: you've hit upon an even better solution right in your proposal. The key to maintaining relationships in space is ... this inanimate carbon rod!

Re:No sex please...

[fazil]

Actually, it was Saltpeter

Re:Easy

[physburn]

Yes, they should take a pornstar or two on the mission and licence the movie footage to one of the major porn labels. The sales would probably pay for a major part of the mission. The only problem would be the titles which will be more excruciating than triple anal. Things like, Butt Wreck: Where no man has come before. I serious actually, it would be a good idea, and will probably be done in an orbitting hotel someday. But Nasa is of course too prudish to let it happen.

Story in the Wrong Section

[ettlz]

One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?

Shouldn't this be filed under "Ask Slashdot"?

Obligatory

[itsdapead]

"One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?"

A: Spend $100,000,000 developing high tech, er, appliances that work in zero gravity, then brace for the ensuing scandal when it emerges that the Russians just used pencils...

Alternatively, recruit more nerds and less jocks. Why not advertise on Slashdot?

Re:Easy

[Xelios]

Ahh the million mile high club!

Healthy?

[$pearhead]

How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?

What's healthy got to do with anything? Wouldn't sexual desire among diseased be more of a problem?

Good question

[jandersen]

How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?

You mean you don't know?

Re:Couples?

[$RANDOMLUSER]

Why not just send married couples?

Who are they supposed to fuck?

Good hands

[Alioth]

Just choose astronauts with good hands.

Sex is like bridge, after all. You don't need a partner if you have a good hand.

Sex in space

[SpinyNorman]

How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?

Having put some considerable thought into this matter, I've come to the conclusion that strapping yourselves together with bungee cords would be the best way to cope.

Stranger In A Strange Land

[snitty]

Heinlein had a solution: send couples. Of course, then they cheat on each other, have illegitimate babies, die on mars, their son is then raised by Martians and comes back to earth and starts a cult, and gets stoned to death. On second though, maybe sending couples isn't the best idea.

Re:Good question

[Fred_A]

I seem to remember it has to do with bees and flowers... Wouldn't that be a problem in space ?

Re:Problem solved

[AxminsterLeuven]

No. Atmosphere blows. A common misconception.

Spay them all :)

[Shivetya]

Well one way to handle the sexual desire problems is to neuter them. I would hope that as a people, especially highly trained as astronauts are, that sex isn't going to be a pressing issue for them on a long term journey. Even if so, send married couples, or send singles, don't mix it up. You could also try drugs to suppress the desires as well. It may also depend on the mission as well. One other note, if we as a specie cannot operate sensibly in space, which can include safe sex, they why are we there?

As for critical injuries, these are all professionals, many were test pilots. While some may never have served in the military they already know the risk their profession brings. If you set out the rules ahead of time they will accept their fate should it become an issue. If anything your going to have to deal with more of the non-critically injured wanting to break the rules to save a dieing friend than the other way around.

As for surgery to prevent possible medical complications, thats a mess. You would have to study both the population at large as well as the astronauts family history to see which issues they are prone too.

As for a dead astronaut. Bets are many would prefer to be buried at space if they have no immediate families at home. Still I cannot see why they cannot be ziplocked and stored in a cold but pressurized area of the ship. The only real negative is the emotional stress placed on the remaining crew having a corpse along, a corpse of a friend.

Re:Obligatory

[itsdapead]

but I'll be a stick in the mud anyway

That is, of course, a valid solution, but it might not suit everybody. :-)

Obvious answer

[olman]

Do what you do to tomcats.

Just put relevant legalese into the astronaut EULA pg 27.

even easier

[oliverthered]

Send geeks into space, everyone knows geeks are too interested in other things to bother about having sex.

Re:Easy

[Himring]

Is it me, or is asking /. for advice on sex like asking a fish for advice on traversing a desert?...

Re:Easy

[ray-auch]

Not many fish are going to have spent half their life watching videos of deserts...

Re:Easy

[PrescriptionWarning]

a million miles relative to the earth maybe... damned theory of relativity always shutting the man down

I, however, suggest a new pseudonym for sex in space: flippity floppity floob

Re:Easy

[BigBuckHunter]

This article details some of the complications that the physics of zero gravity might bring.

The article doesn't cover oral, where bodily fluids are...well...disposed of.....if you're extremely lucky.

BBH

Re:A tricky subject.

[danbert8]

Correct me if I'm wrong (which I probably am), but can't you just tie the dead guy's foot the the back of the craft and drag him back to earth with you? Space should theoretically freeze dry him and somewhat preserve his remains until he could be loaded back into the craft for re-entry. The only problem you have to worry about is make sure he isn't floating outside the window, or floating behind the rocket exhaust.

Re:Use the air lock

[dr_dank]

This problem can be averted entirely if they avoid sending them up during their Pon Farr.

Re:Use the air lock

[White Yeti]

Research indicates that, after 180 days in this tincan, many crewmembers will harbor ill will toward each other and may, in fact, succumb to Space Madness [wikipedia.org]. By my calculations, there is a 97.3% chance that 54.9% of the crew will wish to perform violent and deadly acts upon me at that point. Therefore, the mandate of self-preservation dictates that, as soon as we achieve our transfer trajectory, I must attempt to kill as many of the crew as possible.

Wait... Did I say that out loud?

Sex paid by medicare

[BamZyth]

Even on earth it would be a good idea! I could finally get some. On a more serious note, think about all the avoided rapes and the generally better mood at work.

Re:In space no one can hear you scream

[Wolfger]

...unless their bunk is right under/above/next-to yours.

Re:Easy

[Anonymous Coward]

Why not on the long trips, send out crews of only gay men?

"Houston, this is Mars One. We have landed, and let me tell you, Mars is FABULOUS!!!"

Re:Easy

[smimi10]

How do you cope with living in a space vessel the size of a closet with an ex and her new boyfriend?

Ask Fleetwood Mac. They seemed to have figured out how to do it alright. Well, except for the space vessel part. Although Stevie Nicks might qualify as one.

Re:Easy

[metamatic]

No, if they want no pregnancy or infidelity causing conflict, they should send people who really believe in family values. Yeah, that's it, send Republicans.

Hundreds of 'em.

Just load 'em into the space ships and launch them off to Centaurus. Or somewhere. Anywhere.

Re:Make regular sex mandatory, like exercise

[Profound]

The women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.

Re:Easy

[AGMW]

One topic that is evidently too hot to handle: How do you cope with sexual desire among healthy young men and women during a mission years long?

I'm thinking some sort of webcam?

they should take a pornstar or two on the mission and licence the movie footage to one of the major porn labels

... and then they could rename the launch facility to Cape Carnal.

Lesbians

[MountainMan101]

Send lesbians. No risk of pregnancy occurring in flight, and they can sell the in flight videos to fund the mission.

PS Don't mod this down, I did a lot of research for this post - I downloaded Lesbians in Space and Lesbians on Mars (I also downloaded one that I thought was about Uranus but was quite horrible).

Re:Lesbians

[Anonymous Coward]

"Send lesbians. No risk of pregnancy occurring in flight"

Haven't you learned anything from Jurassik Park ?

Re:Make regular sex mandatory, like exercise

[randomencounter]

Gentlemen, we cannot allow a mine shaft gap!

Two words

[Crusadio]

Sex robots. There, I said it.

Re:Make regular sex mandatory, like exercise

[pcnetworx1]

Mein Fuhrer! I can walk!!