Four fish flew aboard Columbia in 1994; eight babies hatched in space
Astronaut Chiaki Mukai took four medaka fish into space in July 1994 as part of an experiment to study reproduction in microgravity. The fish laid eggs during the mission, with eight of 43 identified eggs hatching in space. After returning to Earth, the adult fish gradually recovered, while the young “space medaka” continued to grow normally.
In July 1994, four medaka fish embarked on a journey into space aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia during Mission STS-65. This experiment aimed to test if fish could reproduce in microgravity, carried out by Dr. Ken-ichi Ijiri of the University of Tokyo. The four fish, named Cosmo, Genki, Yume, and Miki, spent 15 days orbiting Earth with Japanese astronaut Chiaki Mukai.
Post-return, eight of the fish eggs hatched, making these the first vertebrates known to lay eggs in space. These offspring, dubbed "space medaka," exhibited normal swimming behavior upon returning to Earth, with their bodies still adapting to Earth's gravitational pull.
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