Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

First Baby Born In Space Could Happen 'Within 12 Years', Company Claims

First Baby Born In Space Could Happen 'Within 12 Years', Company Claims
Petri Oeschger/Getty Images, Paolo Nespoli - ESA/NASA via Getty Images

The first baby could be born in space within the next 12 years, an expert has said.


Dr. Egbert Edelbroek, founder and chief executive of SpaceBorn United, said the company is designing missions where pregnant women can give birth in orbit.

The aim is not currently for the whole pregnancy to take place in space, but instead a 24- to 36-hour mission for the labor.

Speaking at the first Space and Science Congress of Asgardia the Space Nation in Darmstadt, Germany, Edelbroek said he thought this would happen by 2031.

“This is only possible, for now, in Lower Earth Orbit (LEO), and it is only possible thanks to a very thorough selection procedure," he said.

The congress heard some of the requirements for participant expectant mothers, and medical staff.

These would include having experience of two flawless previous deliveries, and a high natural radiation resistance.

Edelbroek said: “You can induce the labor process like they do in IVF clinics on a daily basis.

“Planning is, of course, an issue – it is hard to plan a natural process like this if there is something wrong with the weather, or a delay with the launch.

“We could never work with just one pregnant woman.

“We would have maybe 30 participants and they could step out at any moment.

“But the experts that we work with, they believe, and I believe, that this is possible at a lower risk level than an average Western-style delivery on Earth.

“That would be the only way to make this possible."

He added that, while he thought this was possible, he was not planning for it, with the company's work focusing on embryo development and conception in space.

#ASIC2019: Speakers' Thoughts in Short - Dr Egbert Edelbroek 1youtu.be

SpaceBorn Utd researches conditions for human reproduction in space, and is focused on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).

Asked about the 12-year estimate, Edelbroek said it would depend on funding and developments in the space tourism sector.

“If that sector is going to accelerate in the way it's doing right now, there will be markets for very wealthy people who aren't prepared to do three months' military training, happy to go as they are," he said.

“And there will be spacecraft that are very comfortable for those people.

“It depends on the risk you are willing to take."

#ASIC2019: Speakers' Thoughts in Short - Dr Egbert Edelbroek 2youtu.be

More from News

Donald Trump; Vladimir Putin
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Contributor/Getty Images

Trump Sparks Concern After Repeatedly Confusing Alaska With Russia Ahead Of Putin Meeting

President Donald Trump turned heads on Monday after he repeatedly claimed he's going to "Russia" on Friday—very openly confusing the country with the state of Alaska, the actual location where he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a highly anticipated summit.

Trump made the mix-up during a press conference about crime in Washington, D.C., where he has already moved to federalize the police and deploy the National Guard, citing inflated crime statistics that compared D.C. to Baghdad and Brasilia.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hillary Clinton; Pete Hegseth
Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Hillary Offers Chilling Warning After Pete Hegseth Reposts Video Of Pastors Saying Women Shouldn't Vote

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned women around the U.S. about what's to come after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amplified a video about a Christian nationalist church that showed pastors saying that women shouldn't be allowed to vote.

The segment Hegseth aired was a nearly seven-minute CNN investigation into Doug Wilson, cofounder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
NBC News; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

JB Pritzker Explains Exactly Why Trump Is Pushing His GOP Allies To Redistrict—And He's Spot On

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker perfectly explained why President Donald Trump is pushing for gerrymandered redistricting in Republican-led states amid pushback from Democrats in Texas.

Redistricting has been all over the news cycle in the days since Texas Democrats fled the state to avoid voting on a new heavily-gerrymandered redistricting map and to deny their GOP colleagues a quorum, the minimum number of lawmakers required to conduct legislative business.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

MSNBC Fact-Checks Trump In Real Time As He Blatantly Lies About Crime Rates In DC

President Donald Trump is facing criticism after he was fact-checked by MSNBC in real time as he lied about crime statistics while announcing his decision to federalize police in Washington, D.C., and deploy the National Guard in an effort to fight crime.

Trump's announcement is a significant escalation of his previous attacks on the nation's capital, which he has repeatedly referred to as "crime-infested." He claimed in his remarks to the press that D.C. is “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,” a claim at odds with Justice Department data showing that the city’s crime rate hit a 30-year low last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
A young man sits in a job interview across from a woman we can't see, and he's seems bored.
Photo by Mina Rad on Unsplash

Job Interview Red Flags That Scream 'Walk Away!'

Everybody needs a job and money.

Well, some people just have money with no job... good for them.

Keep ReadingShow less