Male astronauts could struggle to perform in the BEDROOM after coming back to Earth: Spaceflight increases men’s risk of erectile dysfunction, study finds

Space travel raises a large number of gender-related issues, including what could happen to a baby if it is conceived in space.

But even if they remain abstinent during their time away from Earth, male astronauts may have trouble in the bedroom after they return home.

In experiments conducted on mice, researchers in the United States found that exposure to harsh space conditions can lead to erectile dysfunction.

High levels of microgravity and radiation, as they typically occur outside Earth’s protective atmosphere, “adversely affect vascular tissue” and impair blood flow to the penis.

Furthermore, the problem persists long after exposure to space conditions has ended, so male astronauts can be left struggling to perform for years.

The research was conducted by experts at Florida State University and Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina, who said the effects of spaceflight on erectile function have not yet been explored.

“There has been increasing interest within the space industry in long-duration manned missions to the Moon and Mars,” they say in their research paper published in the journal. FASEB Magazine.

“These findings suggest that spaceflight simulation results in long-term impairment of neurovascular erectile function, revealing new health risks that must be considered when exploring deep space.”

The team used 86 male mice in their experiments conducted at NASA’s Space Radiation Laboratory in New York.

Half of the rodents were housed with their hind limbs facing up (to simulate the weightlessness caused by microgravity in space) for four weeks, while the other half were able to walk around in their cages as usual.

In both groups, different mice were exposed to different levels of cosmic radiation – high exposure, low exposure or no exposure.

Follow-up evaluations about a year later revealed two problems related to erectile dysfunction in the mice — oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction — which can impair blood flow to the penis.

Oxidative stress describes the harmful effects that free radicals (unstable molecules) have on the body and is also linked to poor sperm production.

Endothelial dysfunction is when the endothelium, the thin layer of cells that lines blood vessels, is unable to function properly.

“Oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction are causative factors in the pathogenesis of erectile dysfunction,” the authors explain.

The researchers found that these “vascular changes” were caused by relatively low doses of galactic cosmic radiation and to a lesser extent weightlessness, mainly through increased oxidative stress.

Although the experiments used mice, researchers are concerned that similar effects could be seen in humans.

Astronauts spend months at a time on the International Space Station (ISS) and undertake rigorous exercise regimens to compensate for weightlessness.

However, in just one week aboard the ISS, astronauts are exposed to the equivalent of one year’s exposure on Earth – and this is thought to be even more dangerous far from our planet.

The team hopes that treatments will be available to male astronauts, either before or after their return or during their space mission.

“With manned missions to outer space planned in the coming years, this work suggests that sexual health should be closely monitored in astronauts upon their return to Earth,” said study author Justin de la Favor of Florida State University.

“While the negative effects of galactic cosmic radiation were long-lasting, the functional improvements resulting from precise targeting of redox and nitric oxide pathways in tissue suggest that erectile dysfunction may be treatable.”

Conditions in space pose a serious problem for male and female astronauts during long-duration spaceflights — a key part of NASA’s Artemis program.

This decade, the space agency wants to send astronauts to the moon — and eventually Mars — and eventually establish permanent human colonies there.

It is also working on the Lunar Gateway, a habitable space station similar to the International Space Station, except it would orbit the Moon instead of the Earth.

Previous research has shown that microgravity reduces bone density, increases the risk of bone fractures and impairs muscle performance.

Removing gravity also reduces the heart’s performance, and it steadily shrinks, according to a 2021 study.

The study found that even a long-term program of low-intensity exercise in space is not enough to counter the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the heart.

Meanwhile, exposure to radiation can damage the brain, impair the ability to think, cause cancer and wipe out cells in the linings of blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular disease.