Why astronauts 'need space sex robots' – and it's not just because they're randy
Researchers say mechanical robots are preferred than virtual assistants in space when it comes to solving problem and providing emotional support to astronauts on long mission
Astronauts sent onto space missions should have access to sex robots to boost their mental health when they are far from home, a researcher suggested.
Looking into the challenges astronauts will face in space due to the limited opportunity for emotional relationships, Maurizio Balistreri, associate professor of Moral Philosophy at University of Tuscia in Italy, delved into the potential benefits and challenges of using virtual reality in space are compared with those of sex robots.
The researcher said it is "appropriate" for space agencies such and private companies to promote the use of sex robots among astronauts.
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He wrote in the New Techno Humanities report: "First of all, sex robots could allow astronauts to have a companion who is always present and able to help them with the most important (and everyday) practical matters.
"A robot could provide physical presence in addition to assistance. Even with an avatar (or hologram) one can interact, but a robot (a machine) can also be smelt, touched, stroked and hugged...We have stated, in fact, that tomorrow astronauts could find themselves in remote regions of the universe, with limited, if any, sociality, and in lonely conditions.
"In such a condition, therefore, having a robot (an intelligent machine) next to us, perceived of not as an object, but as an entity with which we can, for instance, converse and share a meal, would be a great advantage (and may perhaps help to make an otherwise dramatic condition more bearable)."
Balistreri continued to bring examples of humans falling in love with mechanical robots, such as Chinese engineer Zheng Jiajia who married his droid after struggling to find a girlfriend; or the Japanese man who wedded virtual anime character Hatsune Miku.
He explained that as well as a lack of potential partners and the cramped confines of a spaceship, zero gravity causes blood to flow upwards, rather than downwards as is the case on earth.
Lori Meggs, from AI Signal Research, wrote in an article for NASA, said: "There's no gravity to pull blood into the lower part of the body. Instead, blood goes to the chest and head, causing astronauts to have puffy faces and bulging blood vessels in their necks."
Balistreri concluded that "sexual" technologies can make an important contribution to the people involved in space missions and help them to confront never-before-explored scenarios for the first time.
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