Boffins buzzing over plans to blast flies into space turning pests into heroes

SCIENTISTS TO SEND CARGO OF FRUIT FLIES TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - BUT INSTEAD OF BEING PESTS THEY COULD BECOME ‘HEROES’ BY HELPING MANKIND CONQUER FUTURE TRIPS TO MARS 22:26, 30

May 2025 Boffins are buzzing over plans to blast flies into space. Scientists are sending a cargo of fruit flies to the International Space Station. But they will not be the pests they are

on Earth. Instead they could become ‘heroes’ by helping mankind conquer deep space travel. Experts will assess the effects of radiation on the critters which will blast off on Axiom

Space's Ax-4 mission on June 8. The data could help create medicine to help protect human astronauts on future missions - such as SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk’s plan to colonise Mars.

Defence, aerospace and geopolitical analyst Girish Linganna said: “These experiments are a big deal. Article continues below “Fruit flies are super small but their role is massive.” She said

the creatures were perfect to study inside the space station in orbit 250 miles above Earth. They share 75% of the genes linked to human diseases, grow fast and are ‘tough cookies’. Their

larvae - baby flies - can ‘survive high levels of radiation that would harm most creatures’. “Scientists are using them to see how space radiation affects DNA, the instruction manual inside

our cells that keeps us healthy,” Girish said. “On the ISS scientists will test if fruit flies can make special proteins to fix DNA damaged by radiation. “If they do, it could lead to new

medicines or treatments to protect astronauts on long space missions. “Think of it like giving astronauts a superhero shield against space radiation. “It could help create ways to keep

astronauts healthy during long space journeys.” The fruit fly operation will work alongside NASA's BioSentinel mission which launched three years ago and features a spacecraft called a

CubeSat which is carrying yeast cells in orbit far from Earth’s protective magnetic field. Girish told Asian news website Mathrubhumi: “Yeast is similar to human cells in how it handles DNA

damage so BioSentinel’s results help scientists understand what happens to living things in deep space. “By comparing BioSentinel's yeast experiments with Ax-4's fruit fly studies

scientists get a bigger picture of how to protect astronauts on missions far from Earth. “If fruit flies or yeast show us how to fix DNA in space we could create ways to keep astronauts

healthy during long journeys. “They are helping us figure out how to stay safe in space. Article continues below “The Ax-4 mission reminds us that even the tiniest creatures can be heroes in

our quest to reach the stars.”