1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hi brain Stuff. 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogel bomb here on February seven, the humble fruit 3 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: fly boldly went where no Earth creature had gone before, 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: into space, of all things. The historic trip was made 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: on a rocket originally designed by Nazis Easy. Towards the 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: end of World War Two, American soldiers seized a number 7 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: of German V two ballistic missiles, along with enough component 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: pieces to fill three hundred train cars. The V twos 9 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: were high tech, long range weapons that could fly at 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: a top speed of thirty five hundred miles per hour 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,959 Speaker 1: that's about fifty six hundred kilometers per hour and hit 12 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: targets standing as far as two hundred miles that's three 13 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: kilometers away. Uncle Sam's military realized that V two's had 14 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,480 Speaker 1: great scientific potential. In ninety six, the Armed Forces began 15 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: test firing them at the White Sands Missile Range in 16 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: New Mexico. Even back then, there was an interest in 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: the possibility of putting a man in outer space some day, 18 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: but first some major technical questions needed answering. For starters, 19 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: scientists wondered if exposure to cosmic radiation would harm potential 20 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: future astronauts, So, starting in nineteen forty six, the military 21 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: launched a series of biological samples into space on V 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: two rockets. Seeds from corn rye and other plants were 23 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: sent skyward, often reaching heights of eighty miles that's a 24 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: hundred thirty kilometers or more above the ground. Most, but 25 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: not all, of these were recovered post launch and thoroughly 26 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: examined by scientists working with the U. S. Navy. According 27 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: to the Office of Naval Research, the White Sands Missile 28 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:36,199 Speaker 1: Range didn't manage to send animals into space until ninety seven. 29 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: On February twenty that year, a V two loaded with 30 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: fruit flies traveled sixty seven miles that's a hundred nine 31 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,680 Speaker 1: kilometers up into the atmosphere. NASA currently recognizes the altitude 32 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: of sixty six miles or a hundred kilometers as the 33 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: point where space officially begins. Therefore, those bugs are considered 34 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: the first animals to ever visit the final frontier. But 35 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: why were fruit flies chosen for this cosmic journey? Genetically, 36 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 1: their species has way more in common with Homo sapiens 37 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: than you might think. Around of all of the disease 38 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: causing genes present in humans, have analogs in the fruit 39 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: flies genetic code. Studying fruit flies can therefore teach us 40 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: a lot about our own genetic makeup, which is a 41 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: big reason the insects are so popular among biological researchers. 42 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: It's also the reason that the White Sands missile range 43 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: wanted to see what would happen to them in outer space. 44 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: On the V two's descent back to Earth, a capsule 45 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: containing the fruit flies broke away, and a parachute slowly 46 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: lowered it down onto New Mexican soil. The scientists were 47 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: relieved to see that the fruit flies were still alive, and, 48 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: perhaps more importantly, that the cosmic radiation had had no 49 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 1: genetic effect on them. In other words, the insects had 50 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: not been mutated in space. That encouraged biologists to launch 51 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: other animals on V two excursions. By the time NASA 52 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: was founded in ninety eight, America had sent numerous hamsters, mice, 53 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: and monkeys into space, though sadly many of them did 54 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: not make it back alive. However, this research and their 55 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: sacrifice has paved the way to the amazing exploration being 56 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: done today. Today's episode was written by Mark Mancini and 57 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler clang Her. More on this and lots 58 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: of other genetically similar topics, visit our home planet, how 59 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com.