Alien environments and the hormone of love

Recent research collaboration between NASA and other agencies has led to the publication of a series of papers reviewing our knowledge about the impact of sex and gender on adaptation to Space. In this article, I look at some of the findings of the review on reproductive health, which considers the effects of radiation, microgravity and stress. The results show that, among other things, Space flight can have a significant effect on the hormones of astronauts and,cosmonauts, and I raise questions about the difference in approach taken in different fields and about how we evaluate the effects of different--and sometimes alien--environments on our health and wellbeing.