Tardigrades Triumph over Space
September 10th 2008 02:37
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water bears
Tardigrades are about a millimeter long, and generally spend their days hanging out in a patch of moss or lounging on the beach. However, .these little animals, often called water bears (no, i'm not sure why!) can also withstand severe environmental conditions and can survive in a dessicated state for years.
Just to give you some indication of their resilience, they can survive year round in Antarctica.
But new research shows that water bears are even tougher than we thought - they are currently the only species known to be able to withstand conditions in space without a spacesuit...
Two species of tardigrade were flung into space in 2007 to see how they would fare. One species didn't go too well, but the other managed to survive the radiation, vacuums and low temperatures of space.
Results are published in this weeks edition of Current Biology.
Just to give you some indication of their resilience, they can survive year round in Antarctica.
But new research shows that water bears are even tougher than we thought - they are currently the only species known to be able to withstand conditions in space without a spacesuit...
Two species of tardigrade were flung into space in 2007 to see how they would fare. One species didn't go too well, but the other managed to survive the radiation, vacuums and low temperatures of space.
Results are published in this weeks edition of Current Biology.
Water bears survive space conditions
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