coach - 31/10/2006 1:07 PMI also believe that the hush hush that NASA shows on this topic goes way beyond simple embarrassment or 19th century childish stupidity. NASA is significantly involved in the following...1. Tax money. To get money from Congress to launch rockets and do experiments, the experiments have to be sold to the public. If the public has an "old fashioned" opinion about sex that is a valid topic of disagreement but put yourself in NASA's position. Every dollar counts and the last thing they want to do is lose any more public interest in space. Telling the American public that NASA is going to conduct sex research at the ISS would be a disaster, right or wrong. Pragmatism is the key in this situation. Everyone needs to relax on this subject anyway. Plenty of research will be done as soon as Bigelow launches his first honeymoon suite!
2. NASA is deeply involved in America's public education system. Personally, I do not want my 6 year old son to know about NASA's involvement with sex in space.
Our society is already over sexualized. This is not a "Puritan" point of view. The openness of sex amongst adults should be encouraged but children's innocence in America is being destroyed by misplaced openness. By misplaced I am speaking of pornography, prostitution, internet predators, etc. I am in no way comparing a scientific experiment by NASA aboard ISS to www.porn.com, please see this. But please also see that John Q. Public is extremely ignorant of science in general, space in particular. Many parents of young children will not see the value in these experiments when they are trying so desparately to protect their children from a relentless barage of filth. Full circle, the parents are voters and tax payers.
coach - 31/10/2006 8:17 PM But if CNN caught wind of a NASA sponsored space sex experiment, the public would suddenly start caring... ...I just think Joe American who votes and his congressmen who are sensitive to his opinion would not understand.
I do, however, still contest explaining sex to my 6 year old son. Reproduction in general, no problem. Human sexuality, no.
On the Bigelow front is where I thought you made the best points. In fact, hotels in orbit are last on his list of inflatables to put up. Laboratories are the top priority and sex/reproductive studies could be done by the private sector and universities without so much controversy.
Big RI Joe - 1/11/2006 11:05 AMOh, so sexual modesty is Puritanical?
vt_hokie - 1/11/2006 2:09 PMWhy do people refer to this as "necessary" research? I think we're a long way from having people live in space and reproduce off of Earth. So, I'd hardly call this a critical area of "research."