Fruit flies in space: How a 1947 experiment helped NASA study immunity

A tiny insect became one of the earliest living passengers sent towards space, long before astronauts were routinely orbiting Earth. In 1947, fruit flies were loaded onto a captured German V-2 rocket in New Mexico as scientists began testing what happened to life above the atmosphere. The experiment was primitive by modern standards, but it opened a scientific path that would stretch for decades. Fruit flies would later travel aboard space missions for very different reasons, helping researchers examine genetics, ageing, radiation and the effects of altered gravity. Eventually, scientists turned their attention to another question with consequences for humans: what happens to the immune system in space?The 1947 rocket flight that sent fruit flies towards spaceAccording to the Entomological Society of India (ESI), on 20 February 1947, fruit flies were loaded onto a captured German V-2 rocket at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.