INSECTS IN SPACE

Subject: Time: 3:19 PM OFFICE MEMO INSECTS IN SPACE Date: 7/19/95 Are insects your model organism for research? Have you ever wondered how gravity and radiation affects insects in such areas as: molecular and cellular biology, developmental and reproductive biology, neuroscience, physiology, behavior, evolution and other disciplines? NASA is planning to conduct research in space using insects and we need your help! We have only scratched the surface on how life is affected in space. There is much more to be learned. NASA and the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Space Studies Board have identified critical science questions that they believe the space environment can answer. Past studies have been conducted in space using insects with interesting results. For example, in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, mating is possible without gravity, aging is accelerated in males, and there are alterations in fecundity, embryo hatching rate, and embryo size. There is evidence that, even without gravity, developmental processes and morphogenesis appear to be normal. However, the ionizing cosmic radiation of space has been shown to cause chromosomal nondisjuction and recombination. In the flour beetle, Tribolium confusum, the pupal period is increased and wing abnormalities and mutations have been reported after space flight. Past flight experiments with the Gypsy moth have shown a shortening of the diapause cycle which causes sterile larvae. An upcoming flight experiment will use the Tobacco hornworm as a model to study hormone regulation of muscle formation. There is also evidence of other changes of insects in space. Honey bees (Apis mellifica) were unable to fly normally and tumbled in weightlessness. House flies (Muscus domestica ) mostly limited themselves to walking on the walls. When they did fly, they apparently could control motion in all three axes, although flight only lasted for a few seconds. Moths (Anticarsis gammatalis) that developed in space, learned not to fly and preferred to float without wing beat. Whereas adults that were developed on Earth, then sent into space, had problems controlling pitch. A spider (Araneous diadematus) spun finer web thread in microgravity. There are many areas of research that have not yet been investigated with insects in space and there is the potential to conduct more research in the very near future. NASA and its international partners are building the International Space Station. Laboratory modules and other components of the station will be launched beginning in 1997 and it will be completed by 2002. The Station will be ready for research by 1999. One of the difficulties with conducting space research is that hardware must be built to house specimens. ***Therefore, we are requesting your help in providing a "Reference Experiment". This Reference Experiment will assist NASA in designing future hardware and planning the experiments that you would like to conduct in space.*** We need to know, for example, what specimen type(s) and number(s) you would use, the experiment duration, what measurements you need, and what materials/equipment and operations are required to perform the experiment. If you are interested in helping us with a Reference Experiment, please contact me and I will provide you with more information. If you would like to know more about what NASA is doing in Life Sciences contact the NASA OLMSA Home Page at http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/olmsa and our Space Station Biological Research Project server at http://pyroeis.arc.nasa.gov. I look forward to hearing from you!! Michael Pence Lockheed Martin Engineering and Science NASA Ames Research Center MS: T-20G-2 Moffett Field, CA 94035 email: Michael_Pence at qmgate.arc.nasa.gov Tel: 415-604-1881 FAX: 415-604-1701

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