Scientists plan to send fish on a rocket ride

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Swedish researchers from the Sweden’s Esrange Space Center will do this research study to better understand motion sickness behavior in space. In natural environments, some fish suffer from motion sickness and some don’t, and the researchers want see how they respond to zero gravity travel conditions.

Tomas Hedqvist, project manager for Sweden’s Esrange Space Center, said they will cichlid fish for this experiment. They will send 60 tiny cichlid fish into separate tanks and video cameras to record their activities.

The fish will be sent in an 11-meter (36 foot) two-stage rocket over a 260-kilometer for six minutes.

Hedqvist said to Reuters:
"Fish, when they get motion sick, begin tumbling around, swimming in circles and miss their balance."
And he added that some fish do not suffer from motion sickness -- they quickly adapt to a changed environment.

After the flight is complete, the scientists will examine the video recordings as well as small balance organs (otoliths), which help them guide during their movements.

The otolith organs sense gravity and linear acceleration such as from due to initiation of movement in a straight line. Persons or animals without otolith organs are imbalanced.

By monitoring the otalith organ, one can see whether the fish is imbalanced or not.

Hedqvist said to Reuters.

"People when they are aboard the space shuttle they have this space motion sickness also. Human beings have blood pressure up in the head when they are weightless and also bones get weak and muscles get small.

For humans, unless the weight loss, bone and muscles degeneration problems are solved, it will be difficult to maintain a space travel for longer durations. Hopefully, studies like this will help find a solution soon.