1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,160 Speaker 1: brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today I've got another 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: classic episode for you. This one concerns the strange story 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: of why and how fruit flies became the very first 5 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: earthly animal to visit outer space. Hi brain Stuff, Lauren 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: vogel Bomb. Here On February, the humble fruit fly boldly 7 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: went where no earth creature had gone before, into space. 8 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: Of all things. The historic trip was made on a 9 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:39,280 Speaker 1: rocket originally designed by Nazis Easy. Towards the end of 10 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: World War Two, American soldiers seized a number of German 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: V two ballistic missiles, along with enough component pieces to 12 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: fill three hundred train cars. The V twos were high tech, 13 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,200 Speaker 1: long range weapons that could fly at a top speed 14 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: of thirty five hundred miles per hour that's about fifty 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: six hundred kilometers per hour and hit targets standing as 16 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: far as two hundred miles that's three and twenty kilometers away. 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: Uncle Sam's military realized that V two's had great scientific potential. 18 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty six, the Armed Forces began test firing 19 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: them at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. 20 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: Even Back then, there was an interest in the possibility 21 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,120 Speaker 1: of putting a man in outer space someday, but first 22 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: some major technical questions needed answering. For starters, scientists wondered 23 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: if exposure to cosmic radiation would harm potential future astronauts, so, 24 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: starting in nineteen forty six, the military launched a series 25 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,639 Speaker 1: of biological samples into space on V two rockets. Seeds 26 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: from corn rye and other plants were sent skyward, often 27 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 1: reaching heights of eighty miles that's a hundred thirty kilometers 28 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: or more above the ground. Most, but not all, of 29 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: these were recovered post launch and thoroughly examined by scientists 30 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:46,960 Speaker 1: working with the U. S. Navy. According to the Office 31 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: of Naval Research, the White Sands Missile Range didn't manage 32 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: to send animals into space until ninety seven. On February 33 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,279 Speaker 1: twenty that year, a V two loaded with fruit flies 34 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: traveled sixty seven miles that's a hundred nine kilometers up 35 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: into the atmosphe here. NASA currently recognizes the altitude of 36 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: sixty six miles or a hundred kilometers as the point 37 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: where space officially begins. Therefore, those bugs are considered the 38 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: first animals to ever visit the Final Frontier. But why 39 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,959 Speaker 1: were fruit flies chosen for this cosmic journey? Genetically, their 40 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: species has way more in common with Homo sapiens than 41 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: you might think. Around sev of all of the disease 42 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: causing genes present in humans have analogs in the fruit 43 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: flies genetic code. Studying fruit flies can therefore teach us 44 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: a lot about our own genetic makeup, which is a 45 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,239 Speaker 1: big reason the insects are so popular among biological researchers. 46 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: It's also the reason that the White Sands missile range 47 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: wanted to see what would happen to them in outer space. 48 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: On the V two's descent back to Earth, a capsule 49 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: containing the fruit flies broke away, and a parachute slowly 50 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: lowered it down onto New Mexican soil. The scientists were 51 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: relieved to see that the fruit flies were still alive, and, 52 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: perhaps more importantly, that the cosmic radiation had had no 53 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: genetic effect on them. In other words, the insects had 54 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: not been mutated in space. That encouraged biologists to launch 55 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,799 Speaker 1: other animals on V two excursions. By the time NASA 56 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: was founded in America had sent numerous hamsters, mice, and 57 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: monkeys into space, though sadly many of them did not 58 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: make it back alive. However, this research and their sacrifice 59 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: has paved the way to the amazing exploration being done today. 60 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article why fruit flies 61 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: were the first animals in space on how stuff works 62 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: dot com, written by Mark Vancini. Brain Stuff is production 63 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: off I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works 64 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: dot com, and it is produced by Tyler Klang. Four 65 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart 66 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 67 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: favorite shows.