To be frank with you, I never thought about it, but now that the question has been raised—and the answer given—I feel very naïve for not having been more inquisitive.
Apparently, Alan Poindexter, a NASA commander, was asked during a visit to Tokyo, whether astronauts are allowed to have sex aboard the International Space Station, ISS.
According to The Telegraph, Poindexter answered, “We are a group of professionals…We treat each other with respect and we have a great working relationship. Personal relationships are not … an issue…We don’t have them and we won’t.”
Actually the way The Telegraph described the question was much more imaginative than I did. The Telegraph described it as “when asked about the consequences if astronauts boldly went where no others have been. “
Poindexter and his six crew members, including the first Japanese mother in space Naoko Yamazaki, were in Tokyo to talk about their two-week resupply mission to the International Space Station.
What may have prompted the question is the fact that during the April ISS mission, the ISS program broke new ground by having four women in space for the first time.
Stay tuned for what are sure to be even more “imaginative” follow-ups to this story.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.