Superflies bred to be the first astronauts on Titan  Artist Andy
Gracie is attempting to breed a strain of fruit fly that could
survive on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The first stage of his
work, The Quest for Drosophila Titanus, is part of an exhibition
currently touring the UK.  What can people see if they visit
Dropsophila titanus?  Currently, the installation consists of a
homemade Titan simulation chamber, some video of the flies being
exposed to different conditions in the chamber, a lab manual I
made during the experimental process and some dead first
generation specimens that you can look at under the microscope.
These are the prototype Drosophila titanus. It is the proof of
concept for a work I will be developing next year.  Why breed a
fly that can survive on Titan?  Although Titan is hostile to
life, until last week - with the discovery of a potentially
habitable exoplanet - it was the most Earth-like place that we
know of. And in about three to four billion years, the Sun will
expand so much tha