Sending Life to Space

Sending Life Outside Earth:

Tardigrades are tiny, cute and virtually indestructible. The microscopic animals are able to survive in a pot of boiling water, at the bottom of a deep-sea trench or even in the cold, dark vacuum of space. In August, an Israeli spacecraft carrying tardigrades as part of a scientific experiment crashed on the moon, and scientists believe they may have survived.

The hundreds of species belonging to the phylum Tardigrada are so hardy that many could be here long after other life on Earth has perished, enduring as long as the sun continues to shine. It’s this uncanny ability to endure extreme conditions that has drawn the attention of scientists, who say tardigrades may hold the key to human survival. What we learn from ongoing research on tardigrades could help us stay alive on the operating table or in outer space.