1.
GV SLAYTON AND FISH EXPERIMENT
32 ft



Initials



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Among the scientific tasks performed by the Apollo astronauts was a killer fish hatching experiment. Dick Slayton beamed down pictures of small fish swimming in their plastic containers. The purpose of the experiment is to determine the effect of weightlessness on the development of organisms. Of particular interest, is the study of the delicate balancing mechanism set in the inner ear this mechanism produces the most of the non-visual clues by which animals maintain their erect position and recover from falls. In previous Skylab missions the ability to maintain normal balance seemed to be arrested in weightless condition, but for the newborn fish this unbalancing did not show up. The killer fish experiments have possible implications for the future missions in which organisms are exposed to weightless during critical periods of their development.