ISRO To Send ‘Fruit Flies’ Into Space In An Attempt To Study Effects Of Space Travel On Living Organisms

For India's first uncrewed space flight under the Gaganyaan Programme, scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are getting ready to launch Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as fruit flies, into space. The ground-breaking Gaganyaan Mission marks India’s huge leap in space exploration programs and is being led by the Indian Space Research Organisation. 

ISRO's Gaganyaan Mission is India’s most ambitious ongoing project to develop the technology needed to launch a crewed orbital spacecraft into Low Earth Orbit. Three uncrewed flights, named Gaganyaan-1, Gaganyaan-2, and Gaganyaan-3, are scheduled to launch in 2025. This will be followed by a crewed flight in 2026 on an HLVM3 rocket to take a 3-manned spaceflight to Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) for 7 days and bring them back safely to Earth. 

Joint Efforts of UAS-Dharwad & IIST 

The University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, and the Indian Institute of Science & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, have chosen fruit flies for a biological experiment onboard ISRO’s Gangayaan-1 spaceflight. 

This study may lead the way for advancements in food preservation and health protection for astronauts in space. Additionally, it seeks to address health problems like kidney stones and bone decay that astronauts may have while they are in space.

IIST has created a kit of 20 fruit flies (equal numbers of males and females) for this mission. The kit was prepared after one year of effort, and all of it was designed and developed by IIST. ISRO is supporting the project, which has a total project cost of Rs 78 lakhs.

This project is led by Dr. Ravikumar Hosamani, a former NASA Ames researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Biotechnology at UAS-D. He has previously done similar research during his time at NASA and attempted to comprehend the various biological processes and challenges that astronauts face, like how the brain reacts in a reduced gravity environment and how the structure and function of the heart alter during the journey to the space station.

Talking about the Gaganyaan project, Ravikumar said,

"Space biology is a new phenomenon in India, and hardly any people are working in this area of research. ISRO is supporting it now. However, it's a well-established research area in the Western world, like in NASA and European states. Buoyantly, this project is going to be the first of its kind, and the idea is to initiate this niche area of research in India."

Why choose Fruit Flies?

Fruit flies are known for their physical structure, which is similar to that of humans. It is expected that the alterations that take place in these flies in zero gravity will shed light on important information for manned space missions in the future.

Drosophila melanogaster has many benefits, including a short life cycle, low cost, and a 77% gene homology linked to human diseases. The Malpighian tubules, an organ found in fruit flies, are a great model for researching and measuring kidney stone production since they closely resemble the human kidney in terms of genetic composition, function, and shape.

"Fruit flies are a remarkable model organism due to their genetic similarity to humans. By observing the physiological changes that occur in these flies during space travel, we can gain valuable insights into human health." - Dr. Kiran Kumar, a leading scientist at UAS-Dharwad, explaining the significance of the experiment. 

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Formation of Kidney Stone in Zero Gravity 

The experiment is particularly focused on understanding the formation of kidney stones in microgravity. Astronauts are more likely to develop kidney stones in space because of several variables, such as dehydration, altered urine composition, and bone demineralisation.

Researchers hope to learn more about the genetic and molecular processes underlying kidney stone formation and discover potential preventative strategies by sending fruit flies to space. 

The fruit flies, owing to the lack of gravity, will lose bone and muscle and also leak calcium, which would eventually accumulate in the kidney and form a stone. This study will examine the ways in which kidney stone production differs from Earth in space.

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The TIFR Team’s Contribution to the Project

The scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) prepare to send Drosophila melanogaster on the Gaganyaan-1 Mission. 

Once in space, the flies will be monitored in real-time while being housed in several vials. The flies have a lifespan of 5–60 days, making them suitable for the Gaganyaan Mission's entire 5-7-day flight. To evaluate the differences, the flies will be split into two groups, one of which will be sent into space, and the other will act as a control.

The team will concentrate on researching the SIRT1 gene, the key gene that encodes the SIRT1 protein, an enzyme that is a member of the sirtuin family. These enzymes are essential for metabolism, stress tolerance, ageing, and cellular control.

"We will investigate whether manipulating SIRT1 levels can shield organisms from the adverse effects of space travel. This could open new possibilities for dietary or pharmaceutical interventions to improve health outcomes for astronauts," Ullas Kolthur, who is leading the TIFR team, told Nature India.

The TIFR team is equally keen on understanding what happens upon return to Earth. Long-lasting physiological alterations, such as ongoing metabolic and molecular imbalances, may be brought on by the return to gravity. 

“We don’t fully understand how short-term space travel alters the ageing trajectory once an organism is back in its natural environment,” - Ullas Kolthur.

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