Mummichog Fish

The First Fish to Conquer Zero Gravity

Skylab, 1973 — a whir of fans, the hum of oxygen, and a small aquarium strapped to the wall. Two mummichog fish floated inside, confused by a universe without up or down. They drifted sideways, then learned to swim in circles, gills pumping like stubborn engines. Back home they were bait fish, survivors of tidal swings and mud flats — hardy enough for anything. NASA called them perfect candidates for chaos. When their eggs hatched, the fry adapted faster than the parents, orienting themselves to the faint pull of the life-support airflow. Evolution ran a practice lap in orbit that day. The astronauts logged it, fed them flakes, and wondered if that counted as progress.