Biological investigations aboard the biosatellite Cosmos-1129

Experiments on insects, higher plants and lower fungi were carried out aboard the biological satellite Cosmos-l129, in Earth orbit, from 25 September to 14 October 1979. The main objective of these experiments was to gain more profound knowledge of the effect of weightlessness on living organisms and to study the mechanisms by which these various organisms with different life cycles can adjust and develop in weightlessness. Experiments on insects (Drosophila melanogaster) were made with a view towards understanding gravitational preference in flies, the life cycle of which took place on board the biosatellite under conditions of artificial gravity. Experiments on higher plants (Zea mays, Arabidopsis thaliana, Lycopersicum esculentum) and lower fungi (Physarum polycephalum) were performed.