However, a groundbreaking experiment conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) has taken us one step closer to understanding the viability of human reproduction in space.
The Experiments
NASA has done groundbreaking experiments on the ISS to assess the potential effects of space conditions on embryo development. The concern was that microgravity would be a complication factor for the embryo.
Further research is required before human conception in space can become a reality. However, there were promising results, published in the October 2023 iScience. And
these findings build upon a previous NASA experiment in which pregnant rats were sent to the ISS during the second half of their pregnancy.
Scientists extracted mouse embryos at the two-cell stage and froze them before their journey into space aboard a SpaceX rocket. Once in orbit, astronauts thawed the embryos and cultured them for four days – the maximum duration they can survive outside a uterus. Subsequently, the embryos were chemically preserved and returned to Earth for analysis.
