# Now that NASA is allowing tourists to visit the ISS... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194 "2019-06-08T00:03:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/1 "2019-06-08T00:03:32Z")
… how long before we have the first footage of sex in space? > **[NASA To Allow Private Citizens To Tour International Space Station](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nasa-international-space-station-tourism_n_5cfa8cdfe4b02ee347764437)** > > But only the superrich can afford it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/2 "2019-06-08T01:15:58Z")
According to your cite, it may costs as much as $58 million per person to be a tourist on the ISS. Two people (I really don’t want to see one person having sex in space, no matter how satisfied that person might be by the experience) would cost $116 million. We’d need a couple (at least) with a LOT of money as well as exhibitionist tendencies, so that narrows the potential participants quite a bit. Bonus points if one of them is not named Kardashian. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/3 "2019-06-08T01:24:00Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > According to your cite, it may costs as much as $58 million per person to be a tourist on the ISS. Two people (I really don’t want to see one person having sex in space, no matter how satisfied that person might be by the experience) would cost $116 million. > > We’d need a couple (at least) with a LOT of money as well as exhibitionist tendencies, so that narrows the potential participants quite a bit. > > Bonus points if one of them is not named Kardashian. 😛 I wonder if Elon Musk’s wife would be open to the experience? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/4 "2019-06-08T01:50:51Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > … how long before we have the first footage of sex in space? It probably exist already, it just hasn’t been posted yet. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/5 "2019-06-08T02:18:51Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > It probably exist already, it just hasn’t been posted yet. Astronauts behave with honor and integrity. I don’t see anything dishonorable about sex with a willing partner - or even recording some of the effects of it by leaving heartbeat monitors on - but filming a porno is questionable. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/6 "2019-06-08T02:23:44Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > According to your cite, it may costs as much as $58 million per person to be a tourist on the ISS. Two people (I really don’t want to see one person having sex in space, no matter how satisfied that person might be by the experience) would cost $116 million. > > We’d need a couple (at least) with a LOT of money as well as exhibitionist tendencies, so that narrows the potential participants quite a bit. > > Bonus points if one of them is not named Kardashian. 😛 I’ll contribute a sawbuck if that’ll get the ball rolling. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/7 "2019-06-08T02:52:57Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Astronauts behave with honor and integrity. I don’t see anything dishonorable about sex with a willing partner - or even recording some of the effects of it by leaving heartbeat monitors on - but filming a porno is questionable. It’s something humans do, and if we’re going to be in space for the long term, it has to be studied. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/8 "2019-06-08T09:06:34Z")
Coming soon, to a theatre near you: _Space Sex 2: Weightless Boogaloo_. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/9 "2019-06-08T10:38:22Z")
If it turns out that sex in zero-gravity is more awkward and less satisfying than sex in 1 g I will laugh my ass off. After all - zero-g usually comes with vertigo and nausea. Didn’t one of the Apollo astronauts spend considerable time puking while traveling to the Moon and back? Or was that one of the Gemini guys in orbit. Then there’s the problem of, er… remaining attacked to one’s partner without the aid of gravity to hold both of you down to a convenient surface. There might be other problems I can’t think of offhand. I’m sure it’s _possible_ to have sex in zero-g. I’m just not sure if it’s going to be the wonderful thing people have fantasized about. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/10 "2019-06-08T11:29:58Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Coming soon, to a theatre near you: > > _Space Sex 2: Weightless Boogaloo_. Best. Misheard. Company name. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/11 "2019-06-08T15:08:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If it turns out that sex in zero-gravity is more awkward and less satisfying than sex in 1 g I will laugh my ass off. > > After all - zero-g usually comes with vertigo and nausea. Didn’t one of the Apollo astronauts spend considerable time puking while traveling to the Moon and back? Or was that one of the Gemini guys in orbit. Then there’s the problem of, er… remaining attacked to one’s partner without the aid of gravity to hold both of you down to a convenient surface. There might be other problems I can’t think of offhand. > > I’m sure it’s _possible_ to have sex in zero-g. I’m just not sure if it’s going to be the wonderful thing people have fantasized about. Years ago, one of my favorite erotica writers created a mock NASA report. The male and female pair of astronauts (this is NASA we’re talking about) had been supplied with a pair of belts connected with bungee cords to keep them together during coitus. If they did decide that the one activity essential to the continuation of the human race is important to study, they have the perfect place for it on the ISS - the [Bigelow inflatable module](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigelow_Expandable_Activity_Module). It’s a a private piece of property and currently they’re are only using it for storage. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/12 "2019-06-08T15:20:23Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > If they did decide that the one activity essential to the continuation of the human race is important to study, they have the perfect place for it on the ISS - the [Bigelow inflatable module](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigelow_Expandable_Activity_Module). It’s a a private piece of property and currently they’re are only using it for storage. Don’t the astronauts have private quarters? Government employees hook up all the time in government owned barracks and bachelor officer quarters and so on. This is totally fine so long as it’s consensual and they aren’t filming a porno on government property. The way I see it, if any pair of astronauts is in space together, and they have some break time, and they are either a couple or were willing to bone when they were on the ground, they really owe it to the species to find out if it’s achievable in space… ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/13 "2019-06-08T15:22:39Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Astronauts behave with honor and integrity. I don’t see anything dishonorable about sex with a willing partner - or even recording some of the effects of it by leaving heartbeat monitors on - but filming a porno is questionable. Puh-Leez!!! All kinds of people video themselves having sex. And all kinds of people have sex in strange places. Given that space missions have been co-Ed for decades now, it would not surprise me at all, that there have been astronauts that have had sex in space and likely that it has been videoed. Not for some sort of study, but for their own personal gratification. And as far as astronauts behaving with honor and integrity, that doesn’t have anything to do with it. But if that’s your criteria for it to happen, well there are plenty of stories of NASA astronauts not having the greatest integrity. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/14 "2019-06-08T15:38:00Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Don’t the astronauts have private quarters? They do, but they are very cozy, almost as if they were specifically designed to discourage coupling. And all of them are next door to each other. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/15 "2019-06-08T15:46:11Z")
There was one Shuttle flight where two of the astronauts were married to each other. Officially, they didn’t do anything but their official mission duties. But I’d be both amazed and disappointed if they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/16 "2019-06-08T16:15:40Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Years ago, one of my favorite erotica writers created a mock NASA report. The male and female pair of astronauts (this is NASA we’re talking about) had been supplied with a pair of belts connected with bungee cords to keep them together during coitus. All the buckles and harnesses are not really necessary. Unless you’re into that. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/17 "2019-06-08T16:18:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There was one Shuttle flight where two of the astronauts were married to each other. Officially, they didn’t do anything but their official mission duties. But I’d be both amazed and disappointed if they didn’t. The 254 Mile High Club. Mark Lee and Jan Davis on STS-47. According to Time they secretly married each other and NASA has since put rules in place forbidding married couples from flying together. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/18 "2019-06-08T19:32:13Z")
“[del]Pigs[/Del] Sex … in … SPACE !!!” (Yeah, I used to watch the Muppet show …) ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/19 "2019-06-08T19:38:46Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > They do, but they are very cozy, almost as if they were specifically designed to discourage coupling. And all of them are next door to each other. That wouldn’t stop most couples. Just put a sock on the door. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194/20 "2019-06-08T23:07:58Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Don’t the astronauts have private quarters? Yes. Basically a very, very small closet just large enough for a sleeping bag and the room required to actually get into said sleeping bag. From what I’ve seen the pup tents I used to go camping in were palatial in space compared to crew quarters on the ISS. I suppose if both astronauts where thin enough it might be physically possible to couple in such a small space. Not sure how fun it would be. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-nasa-is-allowing-tourists-to-visit-the-iss/835194.md?page=2)