Before humans can settle off-Earth, scientists need to figure out how or even whether people can reproduce in space.

Why it matters: Powerful figures in the space industry like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have dreams of a future where millions of people live in space, which would naturally require a self-sustaining population of humans somewhere other than Earth.

What's happening: Scientists have sent a number of experiments to the International Space Station in recent years to try to answer various questions about what it might take for mammals, and eventually humans, to reproduce in space.

Yes, but: More in-depth studies are needed in order to figure out just what it would take for humans and other species to have babies off-Earth, and some scientists say there hasn't been enough attention paid to funding and performing these types of studies.

The big question: What are the major factors that could limit how and whether humans can have healthy babies in space?

What's next: A number of studies being proposed in the coming years could help answer those outstanding questions around reproduction in space.

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It's time to take reproduction in space seriously - Axios