Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Heinlein And Russian Quail In Orbit
During the 1990's, the Russian space program tried studying the impact of zero-gravity on embryo development:
The experiment didn’t go quite as planned: The quail embryos developed too slowly on the shuttle, and some exhibited severe deformities. The specific inhibitors are unknown, but later experiments on fertilized eggs on the Mir space station showed that higher-than-usual radiation and temperatures may have been part of the cause. The cosmonauts kept trying, however. Finally, in 1990, the first healthy quail chick hatched on Mir, becoming not only the first bird in space, but the first vertebrate (that we know of) to be born outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. Five more chicks followed.
Here's what it looks like for birds born in space:
In 1979, the Russians loaded Japanese quail eggs onto Soyuz 32 to study the impacts of zero-gravity environments on the development of embryos—and life as a whole. The USSR also wanted to determine whether a Japanese Quail could hatch in space and eventually be a viable food source for cosmonauts.
Experiments studying the effects of space flight on embryo development in Japanese quail, conducted in 1990 and 1992 on space station Mir, revealed that embryonic development and hatching is possible during space flight https://t.co/tjCfIh5gCx [video: https://t.co/7YvMETAVcf] pic.twitter.com/pBSYLBYVRV
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) February 27, 2021
Robert Heinlein visualized this experiment in 1942. In his story Waldo, he describes a man stricken with myasthenia gravis who lives in a space station habitat - and one of his pets:
Waldo touched the keyboard of the voder, producing a musical whistling pattern of three notes. There was a rustling near the wall of the room ‘above' them; a tiny yellow shape shot towards them - a canary. It sailed through the air with wings folded, bullet fashion. A foot or so away from Waldo it spread its wings, cupping the air, beat them a few times with tail down and spread, and came to a dead stop, hovering in the air with folded wings. Not quite a dead stop, perhaps, for it drifted slowly, came within an inch of Waldo's shoulder, let down its landing gear, and dug its claws into his singletWaldo reached up and stroked it with a fingertip. It preened
‘No earth-hatched bird can learn to fly in that fashion,' he stated. ‘I know. I lost half a dozen before I was sure that they were incapable of making the readjustment. Too much thalamus.
‘In a man you would call it acute anxiety psychosis. They try to fly; their own prime skill leads them to disaster. Naturally, everything they do is wrong and they don't understand it
'Presently they quit trying; a little later they die. Of a broken heart, one might say, poetically.' He smiled thinly. ‘But Ariel is a genius among birds. He came here as an egg; he invented, unassisted, a whole new school of flying.' He reached up a finger, offering the bird a new perch, which it accepted
‘That's enough, Ariel. Fly away home.
The bird started the ‘Bell Song' from Lakmé.
He shook it gently. ‘No, Ariel. Go to bed.
The canary lifted its feet clear of the finger, floated for an instant, then beat its wings savagely for a second or two to set course and pick up speed, and bulleted away whence he bad come, wings folded, feet streamlined under
Read the rest of this cool Audobon society article to learn the United States' response - The Amazing Story of the Cold War Space-Egg Race.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/11/2021)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?' - Frank K. Kelly, 1935.
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.' - Theodore Sturgeon, 1941.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said.
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.'
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?'
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
