SpaceX founder Elon Musk must get lots of unusual requests but this one is probably the most bizarre.
The industry titan is on a mission to colonise Mars, something he hopes to achieve by 2024. So what former aerospace engineer Amit Stevenson offered was to provide SpaceX astronauts with some intimate company in the form of sex dolls.
Stevenson, who owns Sex Doll Genie said the the journey to Mars will be lonely work and the company's robotic companions could keep Mars colonists company - rather than just sex, Express reported.
"The purpose of wanting to send companion dolls to space is not sex – most of our customers use love dolls to feel accompanied in lonely situations,“ Stevenson told the British publication.
"This isn’t about cheapening the profession of astronauts or space exploration in general,“ he continued.
A one-way trip to Mars can take between six to eight months - that’s a lot of time to spend away from your loved ones.
Dr Nick Kanas, an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, discussed the psychological implications of this at length in 2018.
"Mars is a long way away and the extreme distance has psychological ramifications,“ he said.
Stevenson used this argument by suggesting some of the anxiety and psychological stress of these missions can be alleviated with the aid of sex dolls.