Exploration of space is both unique and difficult. We take
for granted the ease of putting astronauts into orbit but the truth is quite
the opposite. The explosions of Columbia and Challenger illustrate the dangers
and complications involved in space travel. Shuttle crews and mission control
must meticulously plot every potential failure associated with the journey.
Every nut, bolt, hose and O-ring must be checked and re-checked because of the
fragility of human created machines outside of our planet.
These
problems call for vast amounts of data on the impact of zero gravity and the
human body. We face a major obstacle here in that cost and planning make data
gathering and scientific experimentation extremely rare. So every mission is
very important and has a lot of opportunity costs. Only a slim percentage of the
potential experiments can be conducted. As a result, each mission must face relentless
scrutiny. A cost/benefit analysis must be undertaken of what we are attempting
to accomplish and like any federal bureau, politics also comes into play.
The
optics of studying sex in orbit would face some significant backlash. Many
Americans already view those in Washington as living high off the hog and
wasting money on one absurd program after another. Convincing congressmen,
senators and the public that millions need to be spent on sex experiments would
be a tough sell. Since public funding supports these programs, oversight is
absolutely necessary. If NASA can present a strong argument for the necessity of
this, let them. It would seem that land based simulations would be adequate and
much more cost effective. There are countless number of other experiments that
would benefit us to a much greater extent and be easily justified.
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