28th July, 1973, is a big day for fish. Two little mummichogs(花鳉) became the first fish in space. They lived in a plastic bag aboard Skylab. Three weeks later, they learned how to swim in zero gravity(零重力).
51 years later, four zebrafish are now swimming aboard China's Tiangong Space Station. This is for a space experiment to see how very little gravity changes how fish live and grow.
We know people feel weightless in space. But very little gravity can cause more changes. It affects almost all our body activities. If we' re going to live more in space in the future, we need to understand these changes. People are hard to study though. So, scientists study fish instead.
Zebrafish have helped us learn about living things. They may seem different, but have many similar body parts with us. "Their bodies often work like ours," explains Aaron van Loon, a biologist at the University of Washington.
Zebrafish are also small and easy to take care of. And, they' re clear before they are born. Scientists can look inside them while they' re growing.
Zebrafish have been in many medical studies. In space too, they' re studied since the 1970s. In 2015, zebrafish on the International Space Station helped learn how muscles get weak in very little gravity.
Like astronauts, fish are carefully picked for space trips. They always have a job to do. Our little friends in water are helping us learn to travel in space safely.