Gentlemen, do you want to do space travel? There’s a chance you’ll come back with ED.

Since Virgin Galactic tickets cost US$450,000 (RM2,105,550), space travel is still purely theoretical for most individuals. Furthermore, even these affluent amateur astronauts would be wise to educate themselves on the possible health effects of space travel. This is because, at least for males, there are other factors besides price that should cause hesitation. Male passengers may have erectile dysfunction following a successful rocket launch, based on recent rat research. The study, which was published in The FASEB Journal, stated that simulated weightlessness and relatively low doses of galactic cosmic radiation are the main causes of vascular modifications. Oxidative stress is the main mechanism via which these changes are brought about. According to the findings, space flight can “negatively affect vascular tissues relevant to erectile dysfunction, even after a period of long-term recovery,” thus men would be best advised to take great care to prevent it. According to the Mayo Clinic, erectile dysfunction, often known as impotence, affects around 50% of men at some point in their life, mainly in their middle or later years. Stress, smoking, diabetes, and heart disease are among the causes, and in certain instances, they result in marital dissolution. “This work suggests that astronauts’ sexual health should be closely monitored upon return to Earth, especially with manned space missions planned for the near future,” Florida State University associate professor Dr. Justin D. La Favour, whose research focuses on erectile dysfunction, said. Additional health issues related to space flight and exploration have been brought forward. People are more prone to illnesses when in space, according to research that was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology in mid-2023. The list of infections includes rashes, the Epstein-Barr virus, herpes, and shingles.