![]() Three weeks after the process, the researchers found that the mice produced 73 space pups. However, using IVF techniques, the researchers took the space sperm and injected them into new mice eggs, which were then transferred to surrogate female mice. The space sperms' DNA damage is linked with lower fertility levels and it would be impossible for the frozen-dried sperm cells to restore the same. The team noticed that the space sperm, which had exposure to higher space radiation levels near the ISS, showed higher fragmented DNA vis-à-vis the sperms stored on Earth. When the sperm samples stored on the ISS returned to Earth, the researchers checked for any possible DNA damage due to radiation. Is Mammalian Reproduction From Space-Preserved Sperms Possible? The researchers also stored the sperm from the same mice on Earth under the same temperature for 288 days. The sperm remained inside this freezer for 288 days. The sperm samples were placed inside a freezer at a temperature of -95 degrees Centigrade. To validate their assertions, in 2013, the researchers sent freeze-dried sperm of 12 mice to the ISS. University of Yamanashi's Teruhiko Wakayama led the study. ![]() The study's purpose was to ascertain whether mammalian reproduction was possible on space. This starts by holding freeze-dried mouse sperm aboard the International Space Station for one, 12, and 24 months, and then fertilizing mouse eggs on Earth to produce mouse pups to study the effects of space radiation," NASA notes. "Space Pup represents the first step towards studying the effects of space radiation on mammalian reproduction, which must be understood to sustain life beyond Earth.
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