Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft carries fruit flies to Chinese space station for the first time

On the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft, the space application system led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched a total of more than 80 products weighing about 458 kilograms to the space station. In the future, 36 scientific experiments will be carried out in the fields of space life sciences and biotechnology, space materials science, etc.

Tianzhou-8 carried fruit flies to the Chinese space station for the first time. As an important model organism, fruit flies have many genes similar to humans. By studying their growth, development and behavioral habits in the hypomagnetic and microgravity environment of space, it will be possible to provide theoretical support and technical exploration for humans' long-term survival in space in the future.