Chinese scientists are reportedly planning to send monkeys to its new Tiangong space station for experiments that will involve the animals mating and potentially reproducing, the South China Morning Post reports.
It's a fascinating and potentially controversial experiment that could have major implications for our efforts to colonize space: can mammals, let alone humans, successfully reproduce beyond the Earth?
According to the report, the experiment would take place in the station's largest capsule, called Wentian, inside two biological test cabinets that can be expanded.
After examining the behavior of smaller creatures, "some studies involving mice and macaques will be carried out to see how they grow or even reproduce in space," Zhang Lu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, said during a speech posted to social media earlier this week, as quoted by the SCMP.
"These experiments will help improve our understanding of an organism’s adaptation to microgravity and other space environments," he added.
Some simpler organisms, including nematodes and Japanese rice fish, have been observed reproducing in space.
But more complex life forms have struggled. In 2014, a Russian experiment to see whether geckos could produce offspring in space failed when all the critters died.
And the failure rate for mammals, so far, has been total. Soviet Union scientists got mice to mate during a space flight in 1979, but none of them gave birth after being returned to Earth.
In other words, getting monkeys to reproduce on board a space station will be anything but easy. For one, just dealing with living creatures in space can pose immense challenges. The astronauts will "need to feed them and deal with the waste," Kehkooi Kee, a professor with the school of medicine at Tsinghua University, told the SCMP.
Then there's the fact that astronauts will have to keep the macaques happy and comfortable, something that experts say will be challenging since long term confinement in the spartan environments of space habitats could cause immense stress for the simians.
And even if astronauts successfully set the mood for the monkeys, the physics of sex in space are predicted to be challenging.
"Firstly, just staying in close contact with each other under zero gravity is hard," Adam Watkins, an associate professor of reproductive physiology at University of Nottingham, wrote in a 2020 open letter highlighted by the SCMP. "Secondly, as astronauts experience lower blood pressure while in space, maintaining erections and arousal are more problematic than here on Earth."
With its new space station in nearly full operation, China isn't shying away from asking some big questions — but whether these experiments will play out as expected is anything but certain.
READ MORE: Chinese scientists plan monkey reproduction experiment in space station [South China Morning Post]
More on sex in space: Scientists Say We Really Have to Talk About Boning in Space
The post China Plans to Send Monkeys to Space Station to Have Sex With Each Other appeared first on Futurism.
See more here:
China Plans to Send Monkeys to Space Station to Have Sex With Each Other
- How to Watch Comic-Con@Home on IGN Live and the Full Panel Schedule - IGN Southeast Asia - July 20th, 2020 [July 20th, 2020]
- 2020 Comic-Con at Home: How to watch panels and events, what to expect - Tom's Guide - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- 10 Video Game Clones That Kicked Your (Own) Ass - WhatCulture - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Pet Clones Market Review with 2025 Forecast Global Analysis by Types, Applications, Regions, Size & Trends, Top Players - Market Research Posts - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Breath of the Wild "clone" Genshin Impact gets release date - KitGuru - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Tick that can clone itself is found on cattle in Southern Ky. and wildlife in Eastern Ky.; it's also a threat to pets, and hard to identify - The... - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- THE BAD BATCH TV Show On Disney+ Could Include THE CLONE WARS And REBELS Hero Captain Rex - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Thousands of these self-cloning ticks now in Kentucky - Frederick News Post - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- TV and Film Review: The Clone Wars Season 1: The Gungan General - Fantha Tracks - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Clone troopers feeling remorse amid execution of Jedi - Dork Side of the Force - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- How Star Wars Bounty Hunter Influenced The Clone Wars Canon - Screen Rant - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Lucasfilm Reportedly Has Plans To Bring Yoda Back Via Cloning - We Got This Covered - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Former 'Thone Clone' Elroy Hefner remembered as caring, conservative legislator - Omaha World-Herald - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- The cheapest Cam Link clone you can buy actually works pretty well - The Verge - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Congress grills Facebook over its acquisitions and feature cloning - Yahoo Tech - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- For the Record | Real estate | Business World | wenatcheeworld.com - wenatcheeworld.com - August 6th, 2020 [August 6th, 2020]
- Ouachita announces students named to Fall 2020 Dean's List - Ouachita Baptist University News - February 1st, 2021 [February 1st, 2021]
- Economic Sanctions of Pericles 2,500 Years Ago Backfired, Prolonging War - Greek Reporter - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Clack: Remember these other massacres of Blacks, too - San Antonio Express-News - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Hunter Biden uses n-word multiple times in casual conversations and text messages show - Texasnewstoday.com - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Germany, France and the UK apologize for the colonial past - Mediarun Search - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Dr. Heavenly's Job Advice Has Fans In A Fury. Here's Why. - Nicki Swift - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Racial wealth gap may be a key to other inequities - Harvard Gazette - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Factories that abuse and underpay staff could be banned from sales under new watchdog - The Mirror - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Every New Financial Bubble Is a Cry of Desperation - In These Times - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- New watchdog to crack down on modern slavery and low pay - Construction News - June 10th, 2021 [June 10th, 2021]
- Sandra Cisneros Loves to Read About Women Waging Battle - The New York Times - September 5th, 2021 [September 5th, 2021]
- Your right to know: Latest property transfers and building permits - Lynchburg News and Advance - April 14th, 2022 [April 14th, 2022]
- That "Research" About How Smartphones Are Causing Deformed Human Bodies Is SEO Spam, You Idiots - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Hackers Just Took Down One of the World's Most Advanced Telescopes - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Scientists Spot "Stripped, Pulsating Core" of Star Caused By Horrific Accident - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Scientists Found a Way to Control How High Mice Got on Cocaine - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Cats May Be Tampering With Crime Scenes, Scientists Say - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Huge Drone Swarm to Form Giant Advertisement Over NYC Skyline - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Elon Musk Meeting With Advertisers, Begging Them Not to Leave Twitter - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Chinese Spaceplane Releases Mystery Object Into Orbit - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Jeff Bezos' Housekeeper Says She Had to Climb Out the Window to Use the Bathroom - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- AOC Says Her Twitter Account Broke After She Made Fun of Elon Musk - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- US Gov to Crack Down on "Bossware" That Spies On Employees' Computers - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Scientists Use Actual Lunar Soil Sample to Create Rocket Fuel - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- This Deepfake AI Singing Dolly Parton's "Jolene" Is Worryingly Good - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Greta Thunberg Says UN Climate Conference Is a Scam and She's Not Attending - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- NASA Sets Launch Date for Mission to $10 Quintillion Asteroid - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Twitter Working on Plan to Charge Users to Watch Videos - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Manslaughter Case Has a Strange Twist: Tesla That Killed Couple Was on Autopilot - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- There's Something Strange About How These Stars Are Moving, Scientists Say - November 4th, 2022 [November 4th, 2022]
- Ticketmaster May Have Finally Met Its Match: Furious Swifties - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- NASA Tells Astronauts That Tweeting Isn't As Important as Staying Alive - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Experts Excoriate NASA Report Claiming James Webb Wasn't Homophobic - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Twitter Claims Video of Moon Rocket Launch Is Revenge Porn - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Behind the Lawsuit Against Celebs Who Shilled FTX Before Its Spectacular Meltdown - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- NASA Orders Press Not to Photograph Launch Site After Moon Mission Takes Off - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Amazing Map Lets You Scroll Through the Entire Known Universe - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- So Many People Are Using a Diabetes Drug for Weight Loss That Actual Diabetics Are Having Trouble Getting It - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Elon Musk Locks Twitter Employees Out Office, Then Asks Them to Meet Him on the 10th Floor - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Former Facebook Exec Says Zuckerberg Has Surrounded Himself With Sycophants - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Sam Bankman-Fried Admits the "Ethics Stuff" Was "Mostly a Front" - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Celebrities Are Officially Being Sued by FTX Retail Investors - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Panicked Elon Musk Reportedly Begging Engineers Not to Leave - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Experts Baffled by Why NASA’s “Red Crew” Wear Blue Shirts - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- FDA Gives First Go Ahead for Lab Grown Meat Product - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Celebrities' Bored Apes Are Hilariously Worthless Now - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- "Elon" Plummets in Popularity as a Baby Name for Some Reason - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- NASA Drops Stunning New James Webb Image of a Star Being Born - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Startup Says It's Building a Giant CO2 Battery in the United States - November 20th, 2022 [November 20th, 2022]
- Marie Byrd Land - Wikipedia - December 30th, 2022 [December 30th, 2022]
- Joan Jett - Wikipedia - December 30th, 2022 [December 30th, 2022]
- Q - Wikipedia - December 30th, 2022 [December 30th, 2022]