Sex on a manned Mars Mission...

[amicus]

Watching, for the second time, a 2007 Science Channel production, "Mars Rising", and I include a link, (there are thousands), that outlines some of the parameters to consider.

http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn9770-volunteers-line-up-for-simulated-mission-to-mars.html

Mentioned in the program I am watching and in the article, is an event on a simulated mission where a Russian Cosmonaut French kissed a Canadian female volunteer and raised quite a fuss, enough so the Russians declared they would not include a female on their Mars manned missions.

There is a Mars Mission probe scheduled to land this Sunday, May 25, 2008, that I intend to follow and being a science fiction addict, I keep up with all the space missions and it is possible the muse will direct me to pen a story about the first or subsequent Mars missions in the future, based on real science.

I thought perhaps, for those of you interested, that I might throw this out for input in terms of would you created a mixed sex crew? How would you deal with same sex relationships if those occurred with an all male or even an all female crew?

Although in this new world of casual sex, it is purported that intimate relationships need no long include the frailties of men, jealousy, hatred, envy, obsession, even mayhem and murder that might take place on a confined space voyage millions of miles from any help or intervention.

I rather doubt such an enlightened viewpoint, (if it is enlightened), would be present among the highly intelligent crew members of a long term Mars Mission.

It is at best a 6 month trip there, more fuel efficient with an 11 month vector, more than 30 months for a round trip including the stay on Mars waiting for the next close approach to earth.

Anyway...if you were to write or muse about such story, how would you write it?

Amicus...

 

[The_Fractal_King]

Someone would have an existential breakdown from viewing the vastness of space and then be comforted by a great deal of sex.

A closed system -- like the ship -- is the perfect set up for a cozy style mystery. One concerning why everyone suddenly becomes extremely horny could be amusing. The closed system is also good for an NcR story. Bwahh hahaha! There's no escape!

There are really too many possibilites to choose from but those are what I would probably end up going with.

 

[amicus]

NcR is non consent/rape?

and, I wonder if injections or meds to decrease libido chemically, might be a part of the diet?

hmmm...

ami

 

[Weird Harold]

I thought perhaps, for those of you interested, that I might throw this out for input in terms of would you created a mixed sex crew? How would you deal with same sex relationships if those occurred with an all male or even an all female crew?

I think I'd start with the US Navy (or possibly the Russian Navy) and their screening process for submariners to assemble at least a couple of complete crews. I'd look especially for commited couples where possible inpreference to singles or uncommitted individuals.

Then I'd make sure the training for the mission included at least a couple of month-long (or longer) simulations where potential crew were isolated together to establish or expose any incompatibilities and allow any inter-personal relationships to develop.

Then I'd secretly dose all of the water and food supplies with saltpeter or whatever the current "anti-viagra" of choice is.

 

[amicus]

Thought about the Submariners, but they are first of all, Military and second the duration is much shorter than the Mars venture would be.

They have been researching and running simulations for over a decade on this problem but I do not sense a firm conclusion. Being political jus a lil, (as I always am), I think they feel it imperative to have both men and women on the first manned Mars Mission...

dunno...

amicus...

 

[The_Fractal_King]

NcR is non consent/rape?

Yeah.

and, I wonder if injections or meds to decrease libido chemically, might be a part of the diet?

hmmm...

ami

In reality that's possible. Probably to reduce aggression rather than libido though. A firmly established chain of command would help keep the peace as well.

For for a scifi erotica story meds to protect against radiation poisoning (the amount of shielding needed might be prohibitive) could have some fun side effects.

 

[Weird Harold]

Thought about the Submariners, but they are first of all, Military and second the duration is much shorter than the Mars venture would be.

The psych profiling for submariners is really the only starting point possible. The missions might be longer than a typical sub deployment but the necessary psych profile is the same.

I do NOT mean to turn submariners into astronauts, only to use the same (non)selection criteria to screen candidates.

 

[amicus]

Ah, okay, WH, I buy that, and was not being argumentative, just exploring thoughts...appreciate yours...

ami

 

[amicus]

Yeah.



In reality that's possible. Probably to reduce aggression rather than libido though. A firmly established chain of command would help keep the peace as well.

For for a scifi erotica story meds to protect against radiation poisoning (the amount of shielding needed might be prohibitive) could have some fun side effects.

~~~

Hmmm....again, not being argumentative, but that brings up a thought....reducing aggression, or the masculine ego to act, might be counter productive should some emergency situation develop requiring instant and forceful action....

And I have heard of, somewhere, an 'iodine' treatment for excessive radiation? Might have to search that...

ami

 

[voluptuary_manque]

~~~

Hmmm....again, not being argumentative, but that brings up a thought....reducing aggression, or the masculine ego to act, might be counter productive should some emergency situation develop requiring instant and forceful action....

And I have heard of, somewhere, an 'iodine' treatment for excessive radiation? Might have to search that...

ami

You might just contact Desert Pirate about those submariner qualifications and screening. He was one. And no reflection thereupon, but there are some rumors that always float around about submarines . . .

 

[jomar]

Part of the psych profile would be selecting people with an extremely high level of discipline, self denial and asceticism. Of course, as they ventured through the wonder of space they would turn into totally hedonistic, promiscuous sluts. Probably not just because they passed through that strange cloud.

 

[The_Fractal_King]

~~~

Hmmm....again, not being argumentative, but that brings up a thought....reducing aggression, or the masculine ego to act, might be counter productive should some emergency situation develop requiring instant and forceful action....

And I have heard of, somewhere, an 'iodine' treatment for excessive radiation? Might have to search that...

ami

You could load them up with something that increases concentration. A more natural alternative might be having a ship full of people who actively practice high levels of self control or self denial for some reason. A bioengineered human would be a nice fit as well depending on what direction you want to take the story. At a high tech-level the ship could have robots on board to service the crew.

Potassium Iodide treatments only protects the thyroid, IIRC. In a scifi story there might be a wonder drug that totally stops radiation damage but has the "unfortunate" side effect of making people terribly lecherous.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Or possibly the crew was selected for their calm, serene personalities and then strongly trained in yoga . . . only to discover about halfway into the voyage that it made Tantric ecstasy possible.

 

[amicus]

I find a bit of humor in considering where some writers here might take a story such as this.

I, personally, would attempt to predict how that planned mission in 2025 would actually go, using as much research and logical speculation as possible to create a real, if imagined and fictional event.

Robotics and Nanotechnology may well be worth exploring and if the political climate changes in the United States, it may well be a Chinese crew that does both a Moon mission and a Mars mission long before the USA does.

Both Solar and Cosmic radiation pose hazards to humans on such a long voyage, as does muscle and bone degeneration which has been documented by extended stays on the ISS.

There is much yet to be learned before man ventures off to Mars.

Thanks to all, most interesting...

Amicus...

 

[Liar]

I was toying with the idea for a sci-fi story I once half wrote. The scene was not a mars mission but interstellar travel. But same set-up and time frame, pretty much.

The idea was that NASA had realized that trying to keep their astronauts from bumping uglies in those long missions was going to be futile. They couldn't discriminate against having women on the crews, or gay men for that matter.

So they did what they could instead to make sure that the ones they send away at least wouldn't get sexually frustrated up there. By doing psychological evaluations and secretly picking only the horniest candidates.

This had to be done discreetly of course, due to the public scandal and embarrassment to the agency it would cause. Not even the applicants could know about why they were picked until they were aboard and couldn't tell anyone. So we'd have five or six sluts and horndogs strapped in for launch, all silently wondering how ever the hell they'll be able to stay sane without sex.

But once out of Earth's gravity, the true nature of life aboard what NASA internally calls "The Slut Shuttle" will soon reveal itelf...



Not that I'll ever finish this story. Feel free to steal it.

 

[SeaCat]

Ami,

An interesting conversation here. Some of the information here is outstanding, ie. the Psych Profiling as done for Sub Crews. Another soring process to help keep the peace would be to select crew members who are either married to each other or are in a long term relationship with another in the crew. No solo riders.

Now a question that hasn't been even broached here would be the possibility of pregnancy. How would they deal with that.

Another thing to be considerd would be the food and believe it or not entertainment for the crew.

Cat

 

[Weird Harold]

Another soring process to help keep the peace would be to select crew members who are either married to each other or are in a long term relationship with another in the crew. No solo riders.

I did address that in my first post -- I'd give preference to committed couples (or triads, plural marriages, etc) but only after the basic mission qualification and the psych profiles are met.

Now a question that hasn't been even broached here would be the possibility of pregnancy. How would they deal with that.

One word: Implants -- no implant, no take-off.

Another thing to be considerd would be the food and believe it or not entertainment for the crew.

I addressed the food -- indirectly by spiking it with "anti-viagra" and I thought we were talking about entertainment for the crew.

Seriously though, the food isn't going to be anything particularly great because the limitations of weightless cooking and lift weight restrictions are going to mean MREs or the NASA equivalent.

Entertainment is going to be fairly easy -- a thumbdrive or 2GB Memory card can hold a LOT of games and movies, plus there's going to be a lot of scientific experimentation and observation schedules riding along to keep the crew busy.

I'm surprised nobody has suggested the obvious "crew morale officer" option of sending along a female whose only job is to keep the rest of the crew from getting sexually frustrated.

 

[WRJames]

Robert Heinlein wrote on the subject of manning (or womanning?) a mission to Mars back in the 50's or 60's -- I don't think he was talking about sex per se so much as the dynamics of having a small group together for such an extended length of time.

What is the ideal number? Two? A married couple might be great -- unless they start to bicker.

Three? What about ganging up two against one? And who is the odd man (or woman) out?

It's been a long time since I read this, but I think they settled ona crew of five. This was before Stranger in a Strange Land, back in Heinlein's boyscout days, so I don't think the sexual implications were discussed in any detail. Or, if they were, I was too young to catch it.

 

[amicus]

Familiar with early Heinlein and a whole host of science fiction scenario's, but my particular interest, as it is about to become real time science, is with contemporary capabilities.

For example, a female astronaut a few years back in a romantic triangle drove several hundred miles wearing a diaper, to kill her rival, so the concept of social behavior over a three year period of isolation in space is a real concern to the planners.

Further, two out of three Mars missions have failed thus far, although the US is batting about .500, so they say, so a fault free flight and transit, landing, in site existence for the better part of a year and lift off, return and safe landing are far from being a 'given', with all things considered.

I am tempted to suggest an all male crew and professional abstinence as the best option, but the film, 'Red Planet', again emphasized the 'pissing contest', that often occurs between males, so...again, I really dunno....

Fortunately, my interest is for fiction only and whatever is decided will be beyond my input and yours too, so, we can but watch and listen and wonder and speculate.

Still, in creating a story, it helps to be aware of all the different viewpoints and there surely are many thus far....

Amicus...

 

[WRJames]

The C S Lewis novel about a flight to Mars (Out of the Silent Planet) has a fascinatingly erotic sequence -- the crew (all male) strip naked and bask in the sunlight that streams through the window of their spacecraft.

What makes you assume that an all male (or all female) crew would not have sexual tension?

 

[amicus]

What makes you think they would?

Ami

 

[shereads]

Do condoms work in zero gravity?

 

[amicus]

Could you give birth in zero gravity?

 

[Weird Harold]

...two out of three Mars missions have failed thus far, although the US is batting about .500, so they say, so a fault free flight and transit, landing, in site existence for the better part of a year and lift off, return and safe landing are far from being a 'given', with all things considered.

There's a big difference between a robotic remmote controlled vehicle and a man-rated vehicle -- both in design and in the imperitive to "not be the one to make a mistake."

Appollo 13 would have been a total write-off if not for the presence of thinking beings capable of innovation and invention to find a way to deal with the problem and survive.

Murphy's Law pretty much rules the space programs of every space faring nation/coalition, so there's pretty much a guarnatee that something isn't going to work as advertised. The trick is that, with manned missions, Murphy has to be limited to minor annoyances instead of total failure -- something the humans can cope with because it didn't kill them outright.

Something will go wrong on a 20-30 month mission but I think the human element is going to be the weak link, not the hardware -- hardware isn't subject to cabin fever, it's unlikely to kill and eat the other astronauts.

 

[amicus]

Ya know, WH, I thought about that, even as I typed it before, the difference between manned and unmanned missions, so I appreciate your pointing it out...however...

...as with launch procedures, if you have followed them, computers are programmed to actually fly the mission far more than the mission commander is.

I suspect that will be even more true when the Mars mission actually gets underway. I do concede, however, that should a problem arise, that live crew might, mind you, might deal with the problem better than a computer.

They also might turn a minor problem into a fatal one, lacking the total overview a computer might have....


The movies, fiction, always has an oddball character, one who is 'not with the program', perhaps the writers are correct and perhaps not. Which is why I posed this thread as a question, as I really have not concluded whether a mixed crew or a single sex crew would be more efficacious.

Then again, even with the most sophisticated 'psychological profiles', one never knows what will happen in a truly stressful circumstance, whether it be mission failure or sexual urges that grow and explode.

Again, science fiction is great stuff, I love it to death, but....what will real missions entail? It ain't Captain Kirk or Picard, and it ain't scripted.

amicus...