Insects have been spotted on the Chinese space station: What's happening aboard "Tiangong"?

Along with the new crew of astronauts, an unusual cargo has arrived at the Chinese space station, reports Futurism.

According to official information, fruit flies were delivered to the "Tiangong" space station. A total of 15 adult specimens and 40 pupae were sent on their journey aboard the "Tianzhou-8" mission, which successfully docked with the orbital station earlier.

Researchers aim to study the effects of life beyond Earth's gravity and outside the planet's magnetic field using the fruit flies.

"The space sub-magnetic experiment with fruit flies is designed to help investigate the molecular mechanisms of insects in microgravity and sub-magnetic environments. We also plan to explore how space, in general, will affect their biological rhythms," says Zheng Weibo, a researcher from the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics.

The fact is that magnetic fields have a significant impact on living beings on our planet.

The Earth's magnetic field protects all life from hazardous cosmic rays and other forms of radiation that permeate space. Solar flares also pose a serious threat. It is unlikely that life could have originated on Earth without its magnetic field.

However, in deep space, there will be no magnetic fields to protect humans in the future.

The Chinese "Tiangong" station is in low Earth orbit, where the protection of the Earth's magnetic field still extends. Therefore, researchers have created a "sub-magnetic environment" inside the station while maintaining the Earth's magnetic field environment, notes Zheng.

For nearly a century, insects have been used in biomedical and genetic research, and there are good reasons for this. According to scientists, fruit flies share many genetic similarities with humans. Researchers have successfully mapped the entire genome of these insects.

Additionally, it is very convenient that fruit flies have a short life cycle of just two weeks, and females lay hundreds of eggs at a time. Moreover, caring for these insects is much easier than for mammals like lab rats.

"In the future, we plan to send mice to the space station to conduct research on their nervous system, bones, muscles, immunity, and other key systems," concluded the researcher.

As a reminder, Chinese astronauts showcased their orbital station for the first time. In a short video, the astronauts demonstrated what the inside of the Chinese "Tiangong" station looks like.