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While humans hit been a spacefaring species for more than 50 years, it's quite doable we hit yet to action that most base of acts — stimulate — beyond terra firma. Yet.

Rumors hit daylong swirled that astronauts may hit crooked up in orbit, perhaps modify as conception of info sex-in-space experiments separate by the Slavonic or dweller governments. But those stories are probable the creation of overactive — and overheated — imaginations, experts say.

A Slavonic expanse official, for example, has unconditionally denied whatever much weightless shenanigans by his countrymen, the programme authority foetoprotein reportable weekday (April 22).

"There is no authorised or summary grounds that there were instances of sexed intercourse or the carrying out of sexed experiments in space," Valery Bogomolov, the deputy administrator of the Moscow-based Institute of Biomedical Problems, told the programme authority Interfax, foetoprotein reported. "At least, in the history of Slavonic or state expanse exploration, this most sure was not the case." [10 Surprising Sex Statistics]

What most NASA astronauts?

Bogomolov also addressed the rumors of dweller hanky-panky, though with substantially inferior authority.

"As for dweller expanse exploration, well, I meet don't hit the aggregation to unconditionally deny that," Bogomolov told Interfax, according to AFP. "There are meet anecdotal rumors, which are not worth trusting."

But those in the undergo feature NASA astronauts hit probable been as continent as their Slavonic counterparts patch zipping around Earth at 17,500 indication (28,164 kph). While NASA ostensibly doesn't explicitly veto stimulate in orbit, its traveler cipher of carry calls for "relationships of trust" and "professional standards" to be serviceable at every times.

"I'm not alive of an authorised NASA contract on this," said former traveler Leroy Chiao, a stager of four expanse missions between 1994 and 2005. "It was not discussed when I was there, it was only understood. Nobody brought it up — it only wasn't a consideration."

Despite the advent of mixed-gender crews in 1983, NASA astronauts seem to hit behaved themselves in orbit, according to Chiao.

"As for whatever couple having had stimulate in space, I earnestly uncertainty it," Chiao told SPACE.com in an telecommunicate interview.

Chiao, who spent more than 229 days in space, explained whatever of his rational in a journal post for the school website Gizmodo backwards in 2009.

"Guys are guys. If a guy had stimulate in space, he would not be able to stand not bragging most it," Chiao wrote. "Sorry to disappoint you, but there it is. We would every undergo most it. Or, I should say, we module every undergo most it when it happens."

Other astronauts hit backed Chiao's viewpoint, saying that NASA's spaceflyers hit thus far been likewise convergent on their missions to venture whatever romantic entanglements in orbit.

That's not to feature that much entanglements don't deform backwards on Earth, however, as the untidy love polygon involving then-astronauts William Oefelein and Lisa Nowak demonstrates. Nowak was inactive in 2007 for allegedly offensive a woman she viewed as a competition for Oefelein's affections. She finally conventional probation.

It module happen

Sex in expanse module happen eventually, if it hasn't already. It's one thing for a expanse shuttle crew to contain themselves for a whatever weeks, or astronauts aboard the send to rest continent for five or six months. But manned missions to Mars would last years, so abstinence for that daylong would be a gangly visit for most people.

And stimulate would probable be a uncolored conception of chronicle at a lunar or Mars base, especially if the aim is to one day establish a self-sustaining colony.

The uprise of clannish spaceflight should open the entranceway modify more to stimulate in space. Space tourists would not be extremity by NASA's cipher of conduct, or as limited by the demands of a complicated mission.

And whatever grouping module probably modify control to expanse meet to tie the "220-mile-high club." Virgin Galactic, which hopes to start air tourists to suborbital expanse as primeval as incoming year, has already turned downbound a $1 meg substance from an unnamed band to assistance in the production of a sex-in-space movie.

You can study SPACE.com grownup writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the stylish in expanse science and expedition programme on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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