By Damini Singh
In the quest to discover the mysteries of outer space scientists all over the world have been going out of their way to send samples of various materials from Earth into space as well as to collect space debris. Recently, scientists decided to send samples of sperm into outer space. The main interest in the effects of space on sperm is because the existence of humanity outside the earth depends on reproduction which itself depends on the survival in space of the key ingredients which make reproduction possible.
Using SpaceX rockets
NASA recently sent the samples of human and bull sperm to the International Space Station (ISS) in order to study the effects of exposure to a zero-gravity environment on the samples. The mission was dubbed ‘Micro-11’ and is part of a series of biological experiments that are being conducted using the SpaceX rockets. This is not the first time that Teslas latest technological venture is being used as a vessel to conduct experiments in outer space. The rockets have already been used to deploy telecom satellites, carry Elon Musks personal sportscar into space, as well as for experiments involving grass, probiotics and fruit flies.
This is also not the first time that sperm has been sent into space. In previous experiments, sperm specimens from animals such as frogs, sea urchins, salamanders, snails, and aquatic invertebrates like amphipods, gastropods, ostracods and daphnia were used to produce offspring in microgravity. The current experiment, however, may give insights into the effectsor possibly lack thereofof zero gravity on human reproduction.
The planned experimental tests
The frozen sperm samples that were taken to the ISS will be thawed out by the crew members and then chemically activated before they are used to fertilise an egg. The entire experiment will be video recorded in order to track sperm movement and the data will be sent back to Earth for analysis. Based on previous experiments, it seems the lack of gravity facilitates sperm mobility. Inverse magazine also reported Karouia as saying that This is in line with other investigations on different model organisms which have shown that microgravity conditions trigger faster cell regeneration.
Despite successfully reproducing and breeding animals from the previously sent samples, scientists say that it will still be a while before humans will be able to successfully reproduce in outer space, which makes reproduction and starting a human civilisation on an alien planet an even more distant dream. However, the latest study is a step in the direction of figuring out the optimal conditions for spreading humanity. Karouia also commented that This flight project is the first to apply proven analytical methods to assess the fertility of human and bovine sperm in spaceflight. If the results of the experiments turn out to be positive, it might one day be possible that babies will be born in space.