The Japanese adult firm Tenga plans to send a sex toy into space, local media reported. The Tenga Rocket, with a male self-gratification toy, is expected to lift off from the Hokkaido Spaceport next month, if weather conditions are good. Created in collaboration with the Japanese civilian spaceflight company Interstellar Technologies, the project has two objectives.
Firstly, it is to study the effects of space on sex toys. Tenga says it wants to become the first company to develop a sex toy that can be used in space. In order to achieve this, it needs to find out how to make it work in a microgravity environment. Simply put, how to prevent lubricants and semen from floating around and damaging millions of dollars' worth of equipment.
The second objective is to send 1,000 letters written by people who helped fund the project.
"The Tenga Rocket will carry messages from our fans and supporters of the project to space — messages of love and freedom from people around the world", said Tenga's President Koichi Matsumoto.
Health experts say that space agencies will have to address the issue of sexual health in space, as astronauts will be spending more time beyond Earth.