Tardigrades: Water bears in space

In 2007, a little known creature called a tardigrade became the first animal to survive exposure to space. It prevailed over sub-zero temperatures, unrelenting solar winds and an oxygen-deprived space vacuum.

On Monday, this microscopic cosmonaut has once again hitched a ride into space on the Nasa shuttle Endeavour.

Its mission: to help scientists understand more about how this so-called "hardiest animal on Earth" can survive for short periods off it.

Tardigrades join other microscopic organisms selected to be part of a project into extreme survival.

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So.. life forms can survive in "space", could this mean bigger life forms could as well? We are getting closer and closer to the big question.

A Tardigrade ?? -- looks more like the Bag from your vacuum ...!

Amazingly robust little fellow if it actually does exsist in Space ..... it's mouth looks a little to scarilary like science fiction horror for my liking............

"attack of the tardigrades" !! arrhhgghh.......

PDUK

They are the coolest looking critter i have come across,im glad they are tiny,lol

Cool, more fans of the amazing Water Bear!!! I created a thread about these little suckers a while back that some of you may find interesting. Here ya go: www.abovetopsecret.com...

The idea of creatures surviving in space creeps me out quite a bit.

Makes me think somewhere out there much larger organisms could exist

reply to post by Hawking


Be such an amazing discovery though

Originally posted by Hawking
The idea of creatures surviving in space creeps me out quite a bit.

Makes me think somewhere out there much larger organisms could exist

I'd me more suprised if they didn't!

Good fins Alpal, not sure if I'm more impressed by the fact it can survive on space or by the really impressive photo of it! I totally agree with the poster who's glas they're so small! Imagine a giant one?

Originally posted by DJKris

Originally posted by Hawking
The idea of creatures surviving in space creeps me out quite a bit.

Makes me think somewhere out there much larger organisms could exist

I'd me more suprised if they didn't!

Good fins Alpal, not sure if I'm more impressed by the fact it can survive on space or by the really impressive photo of it! I totally agree with the poster who's glas they're so small! Imagine a giant one?

Yeah just wait till we find the huge ones floating around in space that eat planets! I'm tellin you guys, I don't trust these water bears

It is a pretty incredible discovery though, seems like scientists keep finding more reasons to look for life beyond our system

If we did come across a big one with a mouth like that it could suck a frozen chicken through a garden hose

Originally posted by Hawking

Originally posted by DJKris

Originally posted by Hawking
The idea of creatures surviving in space creeps me out quite a bit.

Makes me think somewhere out there much larger organisms could exist

I'd me more suprised if they didn't!

Good fins Alpal, not sure if I'm more impressed by the fact it can survive on space or by the really impressive photo of it! I totally agree with the poster who's glas they're so small! Imagine a giant one?

Yeah just wait till we find the huge ones floating around in space that eat planets! I'm tellin you guys, I don't trust these water bears

It is a pretty incredible discovery though, seems like scientists keep finding more reasons to look for life beyond our system

I don't think these things actually live in space. I'm pretty sure they're from earth, but we took one into space to see if it would survive. It did.

Originally posted by DJKris

Originally posted by Hawking

Originally posted by DJKris

Originally posted by Hawking
The idea of creatures surviving in space creeps me out quite a bit.

Makes me think somewhere out there much larger organisms could exist

I'd me more suprised if they didn't!

Good fins Alpal, not sure if I'm more impressed by the fact it can survive on space or by the really impressive photo of it! I totally agree with the poster who's glas they're so small! Imagine a giant one?

Yeah just wait till we find the huge ones floating around in space that eat planets! I'm tellin you guys, I don't trust these water bears

It is a pretty incredible discovery though, seems like scientists keep finding more reasons to look for life beyond our system

I don't think these things actually live in space. I'm pretty sure they're from earth, but we took one into space to see if it would survive. It did.

Correct

On Monday, this microscopic cosmonaut has once again hitched a ride into space on the Nasa shuttle Endeavour.

i thought spiders survived the trip to space to ? it goes in a cryogenic sleep..
spider in space

second

Video

Originally posted by Cyanhide
i thought spiders survived the trip to space to ? it goes in a cryogenic sleep..
spider in space

second

Video

edit on 17-5-2011 by Cyanhide because: (no reason given)

These organisms survived outside in space

Water bears are the greatest.

They are super survivors and there are very few places they cannot survive.

On earth they live everywhere from the deepest ocean to the highest mountian, to the coldest extreme to the hottest, even boiling water. They can even go in suspended animation for over 100 years.

You could stick them on a comet. They would survive on Mars. They would be fine on Europa.

I imagine we will find their cousins all over the galaxy as soon as we get off this rock we call earth.

We should fire some of these onto Mars, Europa etc. and leave them there. It would be interesting to see what happens in terms of evolution, natural selection etc. In a couple of hundred years, we could end up with an organism that's very different.

reply to post by MikeboydUS


Maybe not black holes

Ha Ha i was thinking maybe these little fellas can just hold their breath for a really long time!

Awesome is there going to be a follow up report?

reply to post by Alpal


That's just fascinating; s & f, thanks.

Kind a cute little buggers after a fashion. Put little bifocals on it and it would look a bit like a CPO I used to shoot with, lol.


Edit: Waterbears in space; all I can think of is the Muppet Show's "Pigs In Space"

If organisms are that hardy, one could have seeded our planet from a comet or meteor.