New research has cast doubt on the efficacy of human reproduction in the microgravity environments of space and other worlds. "What our findings tell us is that we cannot assume reproduction will simply function as normal in microgravity environments," McPherson said. And SpaceX, the private American aerospace company, envisions a permanent human presence on Mars. "For any such endeavours to result in a truly self-sustaining (human) presence beyond Earth, reproduction has to work," McPherson said. The Australian team also found that despite the negative impacts of the simulated microgravity, many embryos did form healthy blastocysts when fertilised.

Source: The Telegraph March 26, 2026 23:39 UTC