Tardigrades are a paradox. There are less than 1,000 species globally yet they can survive anything-temperature extremes, starvation, irradiation, dehydration, vacuums, and the pressures of the deep sea. So the obvious question is
whether tardigrades can survive space.? The program is called
TARDIS (Tardigrades In Space) and you Dr. Who fans will catch the reference. In the words of the TARDIS program...
Why should we send dry aquatic invertebrates into space, an environment that certainly is not normal for these animals?...One would be: to see if these animals, as the first ever, are able to cope with the extremely dry conditions of deep vacuum and the harmful solar and galactic radiation up there. In the past, several biologists have suggested that tardigrades may be one of the few animals that have a chance to come back alive after a trip in real space. Finally we will be able to find out if this is true....At a more mechanistic biological level, exposure of organisms to space conditions will reveal how living cells react to the potentially very stressful impact of space parameters. And organisms that can handle the damaging space parameters will be important sources of knowledge for how to generate the space ecosystems that will be necessary for the more permanent human establishments in space that is envisaged today.
Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.
Comments
Good luck little water bears! I hope some of you escape and seed distant planets.
Posted by: Homie Bear | September 26, 2007 9:17 PM
See this video of what a tardigrade might look like once it returns from space (alone) and starts eating people.
http://brainew.com/e/ezboard.cgi/db=alife_debate&action=read&dbf=200312290000
Posted by: Peter | September 27, 2007 9:58 PM
hey im a student at highschool, dooing a research project with water bears. i was wondering the best place to get them, or if i can by chance get them from ur guyses project. please contact me at darkmike333@aol.com
Posted by: mike bird | February 7, 2008 10:23 AM
Tardigrades can be recovered from lichens and mosses in your local backyard forest, Mike. Sampling protocols are described here at the Illinois Wesleyan University website below. The site lets you get involved in a larger tardigrade distribution study, if you want.
You'll need to use a microscope from school, of course. Let us know how the project turns out, OK? It's a great idea.
http://www.iwu.edu/~tardisdp/sdp_protocols.html
Posted by: Peter | February 7, 2008 5:41 PM