As commercial spaceflight draws ever closer and time spent in space continues to extend, the question of reproductive health beyond the bounds of planet Earth is no longer theoretical but now "urgently practical," according to a new study published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online.

"More than 50 years ago," explains clinical embryologist Giles Palmer from the International IVF Initiative Inc, "two scientific breakthroughs reshaped what was thought biologically and physically possible--the first moon landing and the first proof of human fertilization in vitro.

"Now, more than half a century later, we argue in this report that these once-separate revolutions are colliding in a practical and underexplored reality: space is becoming a workplace and a destination, while assisted reproductive technologies have become highly advanced, increasingly automated and widely accessible."

But despite these advances, there are still no widely accepted, industry-wide standards for managing reproductive health risks in space, including the risks of inadvertent early pregnancy during space travel, fertility impacts from radiation and microgravity, and the ethical boundaries around any future reproduction-related research.

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