A team of scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai are planning to launch fruit flies aboard Gaganyaan-1, India's maiden human space flight.
The fruit flies will be used to assess how space travel affects living organisms and what kind of biological changes and stresses they go through during the flight.
The team will be sending fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), which share close to 75% of the genetic pathways that influence human disease. This trait makes them ideal for studying biological phenomena.
"Our experiments with Drosophila will simulate the effects of short-term space travel – around seven days of microgravity – to understand how it impacts metabolic fitness and healthspan. “Most studies so far have focused on long-term exposure aboard the International Space Station (ISS). We’re filling a gap in understanding the aftermath of shorter missions like Gaganyaan,” Juilee Adarkar, a key researcher on the project told Nature India.
The flies will be placed in multiple vials and will be monitored in real-time. With the lifespan of the flies around 5-60 days, they are apt for the full 5-7-day-long flight of Gaganyaan Mission.
The flies will be divided into two groups, one group will be launched into space, and the other will act as a control to assess the changes between the two.
The team will focus on studying SIRT1 gene, which is a key gene that encodes the SIRT1 protein, which belongs to the sirtuin family of enzymes. These enzymes play a crucial role in cellular regulation, ageing, metabolism, and stress resistance.
"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 maiden flight of the Gaganyaan mission, which involves sending Indian astronauts in a specially designed spacecraft to low-earth orbit and bringing them back safely, will be conducted next year.
The program includes two uncrewed test flights followed by a crewed mission, with the first uncrewed flight scheduled for 2025.
Source: India Today