While no one has ever been born in outer space, Spaceborn United, a Dutch Biotech, aims to make this possible.
Pregnancy and Birth in Space?
There are visionary scientists who think that it is just a matter of time before humanity turns into a species that fares in space. One strong believer of this is Edbert Edelbroek, who serves as the CEO of Spaceborn United. Edelbroek noted that if humanity is to conquer the stars, it will be necessary to find means for reproduction there.
With this, the short-term goal of Spaceborn United would be to see if lab rodents can be conceived and born in outer space, and then grow to further give birth to babies. The aim of such efforts is to eventually support the conception and birth of humans in outer space.
Edelbroek explains that a backup plan is necessary for humanity, noting that in order to be a sustainable species, humans must be a multiplanetary species.
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Space-Embryo-Incubator
The technology of Spaceborn United plays a pivotal role in such efforts. The company has a "space-embryo-incubator" that has the shape of a disc and is designed to carry female and male sex cells and then combine them together in a low-Earth orbit. The entire contraption is shoebox-sized.
After growing for five to six days, the embryo will then be frozen cryogenically and transported back to the Earth. On Earth, it will be looked into to see if the embryo could be implanted to a surrogate mother and carried until due. The freezing will be done in order to protect the embryo as it makes a traumatic re-entry into the atmosphere of the Earth.
The device is scheduled to enter low-Earth orbit in November 2024. This comes after the spaceflight partner of Spaceborn had issues that led to a delay in the supposed first testing this year.
Challenges of Human Reproduction in Space
After the experiment, the company plans to perform tests on human embryos that were fertilized in low-gravity and artificial gravity conditions. The lack of gravity is one grave challenge to the reproduction of humans in extraterrestrial conditions. Without gravity to hold down the bodies of two people, it would be difficult to perform sex.
Post-fertilization, it also remains unclear how the lack of gravity would affect the development of an embryo.
There is a study that suggests that an environment with low-gravity could alter the division of embryonic stem cells, their differentiation into various types, and their defense against damage to DNA. However, the studies were conducted in lab-grown cell dishes. It remains unclear how such results could be translated to actual animal or human contexts.
Another major concern is radiation. Beyond the magnetosphere of the Earth, the spacecraft and its occupants will end up bombarded by galactic cosmic radiation (GCR). This could potentially result in cancer and DNA mutations. In a low-Earth orbit context, the magnetosphere of the Earth extends sufficiently beyond the surface of the planet to protect astronauts against GCR's dangerous impacts.
For an embryo with rapidly dividing cells, such interference could end up as a disaster.
Moving forward, the plans of Spaceborn to experiment on human embryos will still take off after many years. Their rodent experiments also still need to see their launch.
Nevertheless, with the developments of space tourism, it will just be a matter of time before human couples get to try conceiving in outer space.
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