- SpaceLife Origin, a Netherlands-based startup that planned to conceive and deliver babies in space, is suspending operations over "serious ethical, safety, and medical concerns," according to a statement posted on the startup's website by CEO Kees Mulder on June 20.
- SpaceLife Origin announced its plan to conceive and deliver babies in space in October through three distinct "missions" but was met with concerns from medical experts, according to a report from The Verge.
- Mulder told The Verge that he is planning on pursuing litigation but wouldn't clarify against whom. He had cut ties with SpaceLife Origin cofounder Egbert Edelbroek.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
SpaceLife Origin is pulling out of its plans to help people conceive and deliver babies in space.
The Netherlands-based startup made headlines in October with the lofty goal of becoming the first company to "make human reproduction in space safely possible." But according to a statement posted by CEO Kees Mulder on the company's website in June, there were "serious ethical, safety, and medical concerns" that have caused him to suspend the two missions planning to safely conceive and deliver babies in space.
The statement also stated that Mulder had ended his relationship with SpaceLife Origin cofounder Egbert Edelbroek "due to a serious and unrepairable breach of trust." Mulder declined to clarify the nature of this alleged breach of trust to The Verge. Neither Mulder nor Edelbroek could be reached for comment.
The statement has replaced all other content on SpaceLife Origin's website and is also posted on Mulder's LinkedIn profile.
As announced in October, SpaceLife Origin was planning three distinct missions to execute three successful stages of human reproduction in space.
The first, called Mission Ark, would involve sending clients' sperm and eggs into low earth orbit inside of a small satellite for $30,000 and $125,000 per test tube, according to the Verge report. Mission Ark was supposed to begin operations in 2020, and Mulder's statement doesn't specifically say that it is cancelled.
The second mission was called Mission Lotus and would see reproductive cells sent into orbit for fertilization in a specialized incubator for four days before returning to earth for implantation. Operations were reportedly scheduled to begin in 2021 and run between $250,000 and $5 million per customer, but Mulder says that this mission is suspended.
The third, also now scrubbed, would have been called Mission Cradle and would involve sending a pregnant woman into space to deliver her baby with the assistance of a medical team, and was scheduled to launch in 2024.
Mission Lotus and Mission Cradle were of particular concern to medical experts when announced in October, as the Atlantic reported at the time. Now, it seems, some of those concerns may have contributed to the decision for SpaceLife Origin to scale back its plans.
"'Better safe than sorry' so I need to distance myself from these missions," Mulder wrote of the two now-suspended missions in his statement.
Mulder's LinkedIn profile indicates that he plans to pursue new "space related plans." He told the Verge: "Stay tuned but NOT pregnant women or baby's [sic] due to reasons given."