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according to Wikipedia:

Attached to the brain are two special organs, called statocysts, that allow the octopus to sense the orientation of its body relative to horizontal. An autonomic response keeps the octopus's eyes oriented so the pupil slit is always horizontal.

so how would an octopus' eye react on the ISS (assuming the octopus has an aquarium or something it can live in)? In which direction would the eye be parallel to?

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Statocysts are composed of a spherical structure with smaller granule statoliths inside; the orientation of these granules is recepted by cilia receptor cells. So in a situation like the ISS, statoliths would be randomly floating around, being recepted by cila receptor cells. At some times, the distribution of statoliths may be concentrated on one side, triggering random changes in the direction of the eye. So in this situation, the direction of the eye may be constantly changing.

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  • $\begingroup$ did you make this account just to answer this question? $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    May 17, 2016 at 2:00
  • $\begingroup$ No, when I was deciding the title for the account, I looked at the window and saw my neighbor's ham radio. $\endgroup$
    – Ham Radio
    Jun 4, 2016 at 18:40
  • $\begingroup$ late follow up question, would this cause harm, pain, or confusion to the octopus? $\endgroup$
    – tox123
    Sep 4, 2017 at 19:22

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