I don’t think Han Solo ever had this problem. Everyone’s favorite astrophysicist weighs in on how complicated makin whoopee at zero gravity truly is.
On a recent episode of his successful TV Show Star Talk, Neil DeGrasse Tyson truly walks us through the logistical issues with having sex in space, saying:
If you’re sort of drifting toward your destination, you are weightless, and then everything is different...You need things like straps. There are probably some people who are fully equipped for this anyway, but I’m just saying…You move towards someone and they just bounce off…There’s no friction…If you want to get together, stay together, then you need something to, like, keep you together during all the normal body movements that would characterize having sex.
You really do learn something new everyday. I have to say, I get a kick out of watching Tyson try to explain step by step how to successfully have intercourse in space. It looks like you need at least a dab of kink in order to properly create the *ahem* friction, as Tyson calls it. That’s right, Tyson says that leather straps are a must in order to make like bunnies in zero gravity.
While Neil DeGrasse Tyson has been a leading expert on astrophysics and astronomy for years, he began to become a bit of a pop culture icon starting in 2006 with his PBS program NOVA ScienceNow. While this was stint on television was his first venture into becoming a household name, he gained further notoriety and pop culture status beginning in 2009 with his podcast Star Talk, which is currently still in production 6 years later. National Geographic has since produced a television series of the same name, once again starring Tyson.
Tyson has also accrued quite the Twitter presence since he has begun pointing out the inaccuracies in Space-based movies. While generally not giving opinion about the quality of the films, Tyson simply states the ways the visual team and director failed to be truly accurate in their depictions of space. Perhaps his most well-known twitter rant was the fact-checking of 2013’s megahit Gravity, pointing out errors in the depiction of a zero gravity environment.
I have to say I found this recent video extremely enjoyable. Watching Tyson struggle to get his point across while refraining from saying anything profane is hilarious, with his clear discomfort palpable...
Furthermore, the visual of space heroes like Han Solo carrying around a bag of leather straps- just in case Princess Leia was feeling squirrely is one I can’t get out of my head.
If we do ever plan on exploring Mars and colonizing other planets ala Lost in Space, the price of leather straps is sure to skyrocket- so get those Cyber Monday deals now. While you can.
