Four zebrafish on China's Space Station in good condition: scientists

(ECNS) -- Scientists specializing in space applications say that four zebrafish aboard China's space station are in good condition.

The news was announced at a Public Science Day launch ceremony hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Sunday.

Since the small controlled-life ecological and experimental component of the Chinese Space Station was transferred to the Wentian cabin by astronauts on April 26, it has been stably operated in orbit for 24 days, scientists said at the ceremony.

Chinese astronauts have carried out two water sample collections and one fish food box replacement operation. They found that zebra fish showed abnormal orientation behaviors such as upside-down swimming, rotational movement, and circling under microgravity.

A highlight of Public Science Day 2024 was "Sowing a Seed Together Across Heaven and Earth - Young People and Astronauts Raising Zebrafish Together," an education activity launched on May 19 at the Space Application Engineering and Technology Center. 

At the launch ceremony, Wang Gaohong, a researcher at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zheng Weibo, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, and Cang Huaixing, a researcher at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, provided a general interpretation of the space-life experiments on China's Space Station and introduced in detail about the growth of the four zebrafish. 

They stated that scientists will use the returned recycled water samples, fish eggs, and other samples, combined with videos of zebrafish space movement behavior, to conduct research on the impact of the space environment on the growth, development, and behavior of vertebrates, while providing support for the study of material cycling in closed space ecosystems.