Jellyfish In Space
Jellyfish In Space: What Did We Learn?
Starting from the early 1990s, scientists have been launching jellyfish into space in order to investigate how their growth and development are affected by weightlessness. The inaugural mission in 1991 sent more than 2,000 jellyfish polyps, which were enclosed in flasks and bags filled with artificial seawater, into orbit. To stimulate the polyps to swim and propagate, astronauts injected chemicals into the bags while on board the Columbia space shuttle. By the conclusion of the mission, more than 60,000 jellyfish were thriving in space.
What did we learn from jellyfish in space?
The astronauts stimulated these polyps to strobilate and produce juvenile jellyfish, which they monitored until they matured into adults. The objective of the experiment was to investigate the impact of zero gravity on jellyfish development and to determine whether adult jellyfish would exhibit altered behavior upon their return to Earth's gravity.
Although the space-bred jellyfish appeared comparable to their terrestrial counterparts, they displayed distinct motor skills upon returning to Earth. Specifically, they exhibited abnormal pulsing and movement, similar to someone suffering from vertigo after consuming too many alcoholic shots.
Why would jellyfish experience vertigo when returned to Earth?
Jellyfish use calcium sulfate crystals located at the base of their mushroom-shaped bodies to distinguish up from down. These crystals are held in small pockets lined with hair cells that, when the jellyfish moves, roll around and stimulate the hair cells to signal the brain which direction is up. Although the pockets appeared to develop normally in space, the astro-jellies had difficulty navigating in regular gravity upon returning to Earth, exhibiting irregular pulsing and movement compared to their non-astronaut counterparts.
Humans, like jellyfish, rely on calcium crystals, known as otoliths, located in the inner ear to perceive gravity and acceleration. Otoliths also move hair cells, which signal to the brain which way gravity is pulling. If jellyfish struggle to develop their gravity senses in space, it's likely that human astronauts may experience significant vertigo as well.
