Can humans procreate in outer space? We don't know, is the succinct response. The lengthy answer is possibly, but there are considerable obstacles to be removed before zero-gravity pregnancies can be considered safe.


No matter who you are, space is dangerous. After lengthy periods in space, even astronauts in excellent physical condition frequently discover that they have lost strength, their muscles have atrophy, and their eyes have been harmed. Some of these effects, such as the amounts of solar radiation they are exposed to that may cause cancer later in life, are not reversible, despite the fact that many of them are.
The majority of studies being conducted aboard the International Space Station are intended to increase medical knowledge and lessen the worst effects of these issues. But there is still plenty to discover, and we don't really understand much about pregnancy.
What we do know is that gravity, not radiation, poses the greatest threat to the development of human embryos. Alternatively, the absence of gravity There is some evidence that gravity plays a role in the early stages of the process, when the cells first start to divide and develop, growth can happen more quickly at one end of the embryo than the other. Later, gravity plays a role in ensuring that the body develops properly, with the right orientation and placement of the cells. What would occur to human embryo development in microgravity is unknown.
Animal studies can aid scientists in understanding the mechanisms at play without endangering human life, just like in other fields of medicine. Frog eggs were used in the first tests, which date back to the Gemini programme. A positive finding was that there were no problems in cell division. It wasn't until a Space Shuttle flight in 1994 that researchers were able to successfully encourage fish mating and hatching in space, and even then, only specific species appeared to adapt well to microgravity. Soviet researchers had attempted fertilisation tests on fish but had difficulty getting them to mate. Further investigation in the 1990s revealed that when embryonic newts were placed in a centrifuge, the prevalence of neural tube abnormalities dropped from 81% to 23%.
Birds and geckos have also been investigated, but studying mammals is necessary if we are to truly comprehend the development of humans in space.


Young rat and mouse litters examined in microgravity provide both good and bad news. The good news is that many healthy rats and mice have made it through their space missions and have successfully adapted to life on Earth. Feared flaws—changes that would linger for generations—did not manifest. The bad news is that a small number of litters did exhibit negative effects, but it is still unclear whether this was due to microgravity or rather subpar maternal care because the mother behaved differently in microgravity and was unable to form the same types of bonds with her children as she would on Earth.
Embryonic stem cells, adaptable cells that can differentiate into any sort of cell the body requires, play a role in human development to some extent. Sadly, there is some evidence to suggest that this process might be hampered in space. That's bad news for women who might want to get pregnant in orbit. However, there is some good news on this front as well. Adult tissue stem cells, which are frequently employed to treat degenerative disorders, appear to proliferate more quickly in microgravity, which may make these treatments more readily available to those who need them.

Long-term advancements are required in one of two areas in order to make pregnancy and reproduction in space safe. We can approach the issue from an engineering perspective and create spinning space habitats with artificial gravity that resemble 1G. Or, from a medical perspective, we can discover methods to promote embryo development at the cellular level, possibly through medication.

For now, the safest places for pregnancy and childbirth are on Earth (and possibly in other gravity wells, like Mars). It will not be simple to leave the proverbial cradle. As our reproductive systems have only developed here, "Mother Earth" is a suitable personification of our planet in this case. Taking our biology beyond this point will require imaginative adaptation on both a technological and medical level if we are to have any chance of success.