Helen Sharman, an astronaut from Britain, argues that crews of astronauts of the same sex should fly to Mars. Otherwise, women and men will start sleeping with each other, which will negatively affect the mission. This is reported by The Sun.
According to Sharman, a special study was conducted on the behavior, including sexual behavior, of people who are in long isolation. The aim of the project was to develop a recommendation for the composition of the crew. The findings suggest that in mixed teams, where both men and women are present, bullying, including sexual intercourse, is more likely to occur.
It is clarified that sexual contacts can lead to such undesirable consequences as pregnancy. In addition, personal relationships can make it difficult for the crew to work together. According to Sharman, NASA has found that a female-only team is preferable because conflicts between men will be more frequent.
Helen Sharman is the first astronaut of Great Britain. On May 18, 1991, she made a space flight to the Mir orbital station on the Soyuz TM-12 spacecraft, together with Anatoly Artsebarsky and Sergey Krikalev. Before the flight, she worked as a chemical technologist at a confectionery factory.