The United States sent 2,487 jellyfish into space, and after breeding to 60,000, scientists found on

Mondo Science Updated on 2024-03-06

Since the beginning of the 20th century, with the continuous progress of science and technology, mankind has finally begun to move towards the space field that can only be dreamed of in the past. In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin completed the first manned space flight in human history aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft, opening a new era of human space exploration.

With the rapid growth of the earth's population, the earth's resources are becoming more and more strained, so people began to put forward the idea of building cities in space and realizing space migration. Although we are already familiar with this idea in the movies and **, in reality, it is still unknown when the space migration program will be realized. Among them, it is particularly important to solve the problem of reproduction, because it is related to the inheritance of civilization.

To solve this problem, the best way is to conduct animal experiments. The United States sent two apes into space before humans went on manned spaceflight, and the Soviet Union sent a puppy named Laika, and these experiments provided important data for the later space programs of the two countries.

In the 90s of the 20th century, American scientists put 2,478 jellyfish into water bags and sent them into space with the space shuttle "Columbia". Jellyfish are one of the most important plankton in the ocean, and one of the most tenacious. They reproduce in a similar way to humans, with females fertilizing and laying larvae, which then grow independently. In the space environment, scientists provide jellyfish with a similar environment and proper nutrition as in the ocean, observing how well they grow in a vacuum under the same conditions. During the half-month space flight, the number of jellyfish grew from 2,478 to a staggering 60,000, outpacing the rate at which they can reproduce in their natural environment. However, when the spacecraft returned to Earth, scientists discovered a shocking phenomenon - these jellyfish turned into "fools"!

It turns out that jellyfish do not have brains, they perceive the external environment and food through their nervous system and simple organs. But in a weightless environment, the nerve cells of these jellyfish become disordered and lose their function. Although they appear to swim like normal jellyfish, they are actually aimless and disoriented. These jellyfish are like being blindfolded and fall into a state of "dizziness" for a long time.

Overall, while jellyfish have achieved an astonishing rate of reproduction in the space environment, they have also exposed the problem of adapting to life on Earth. This reminds us that in the process of exploring space, we must be cautious about life, taking into account the adaptability of living beings in different environments. So, how do you think we should better protect and maintain life's resilience in future space migration programs?

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