Shrimp feeding in microgravity: Scientists are teaching shrimp to eat in zero gravity

Researchers at Okayama University of Science studied shrimp feeding in simulated microgravity using a custom clinostat that rotates at 130 RPM.

The study published in Microgravity Science and Technology explored whether crustaceans could be part of a food chain for astronauts on long-duration missions.

A clinostat mimics microgravity by constantly repositioning contents to cancel gravity's pull, but standard models rotate too slowly for agile animals.

The custom fast-rotating clinostat prevented shrimp from reorienting, enabling observation of feeding behavior in pseudo-weightlessness.