Fruit flies in space

On a July 9, 1946, suborbital [[V-2 rocket]] flight, [[Drosophilidae|fruit flies]] became the first living organisms to go to space, and on February 20, 1947, fruit flies safely returned from a suborbital space flight, which paved the way for human exploration. Years before sending [[mammal]]s into space, such as the 1949 flight of the rhesus monkey [[Albert II (monkey)|Albert II]], the [[Soviet space dogs]], or [[Human spaceflight|humans]], scientists studied ''[[Drosophila melanogaster]]'' (the common fruit fly) and its reactions to both radiation and space flight to understand the possible effects of space and a [[Weightlessness|zero-gravity]] environment on humans. Starting in the 1910s, researchers conducted experiments on fruit flies because humans and fruit flies share many [[gene]]s.

On a July 9, 1946, suborbital [[V-2 rocket]] flight, [[Drosophilidae|fruit flies]] became the first living organisms to go to space, and on February 20, 1947, fruit flies safely returned from a suborbital space flight, which paved the way for human exploration. Years before sending [[mammal]]s into space, such as the 1949 flight of the rhesus monkey [[Albert II (monkey)|Albert II]], the [[Soviet space dogs]], or [[Human spaceflight|humans]], scientists studied ''[[Drosophila melanogaster]]'' (the common fruit fly) and its reactions to both radiation and space flight to understand the possible effects of space and a [[Weightlessness|zero-gravity]] environment on humans. Starting in the 1910s, researchers conducted experiments on fruit flies because humans and fruit flies share many [[gene]]s.

At the height of the [[Cold War]] and the [[Space Race]], flies were sent on missions to space with great frequency, allowing scientists to study the nature of living and breeding in space. Scientists and researchers from the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]] both used fruit flies for their research and missions. These flies were used to further the understanding of the effects of weightlessness on the [[cardiovascular]] system, the [[immune system]], and the genetic code of astronauts.

At the height of the [[Cold War]] and the [[Space Race]], flies were sent on missions to space with great frequency, allowing scientists to study the nature of living and breeding in space. Scientists and researchers from the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[United States]] both used fruit flies for their research and missions. These flies were used to further the understanding of the effects of weightlessness on the [[cardiovascular]] system, the [[immune system]], and the genes of astronauts.

== Background ==

== Background ==