NASA send human sperm to space on Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 | Daily Star

The sperm – carried to the station on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 – will be the subject of a number of experiments to see how space and low gravity affect male sex cells.

Astronauts onboard the ISS will thaw the frozen sperm to see if sex in space would lead to successful reproduction.

The scientific study is part of NASA’s Micro-11 mission, which contains samples of frozen human and bull sperm.

Once the Falcon 9's Dragon resupply capsule has completed the first stage of the journey and has docked, research will begin on the samples.

NASA hopes to understand how micro-gravity affects the swimming of sperm and how well they move in space.

In a statement, the agency said: “Little is currently known about the biology of reproduction in space, and this experiment will begin to address that gap by measuring, for the first time, how well bull and human sperm functions in space.”

Successful fertilisation of a human egg depends on several factors and is broken down into two stages. 

The sperm cell must be activated and then change slightly as it swims  towards  an egg to fertilise it.

In preparation for fusing with the egg, it must move faster and its cell membrane must become more fluid.

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NASA

TEST: Astronauts watch the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft arrive, carrying a cargo of frozen sperm

“Little is currently known about the biology of reproduction in space”

NASA

In previous experiments with urchin and bull sperm, activation happens quicker in microgravity, but the steps that lead up to successful fusing are very delayed or simply do not happen at all.

“Delays or problems at this stage could prevent fertilisation from happening in space,” Nasa warned.

It has also sent bull sperm to the station to use as a comparison.

After thawing and activating the sperm samples, researchers will use video to assess how well the sperm move in the adverse conditions of space.

PA

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Changes in the bull semen will allow researchers to detect subtle differences in sperm from both species.

After being studied on the ISS, the samples will be mixed with preservatives and returned to Earth.

Here, it will be determined if fusion occurred and whether the space sperm is any different to regular Earth sperm.  

Nasa added: “We don't know yet how long-duration spaceflight affects human reproductive health, and this investigation would be the first step in understanding the potential viability of reproduction in reduced-gravity conditions.”

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