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A cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for Thursday, will see astronauts enjoy apples, avocado, and other fresh food—not including the 128.
When SpaceX makes its 22nd resupply mission to the International Space Station on Thursday, it will be carrying two very special guest species: water bears and bobtail squid.
The animals are being launched into the cosmos in the name of science, as NASA researchers attempt to learn more about how the conditions of spaceflight can affect biological organisms and, by extension, future astronauts.
Water bears: basically indestructible
Tardigrades are microscopic organisms better known as water bears because of their shape and the fact that they commonly live in the water. (They have also been called, endearingly, moss piglets. )
Water bears can survive in conditions that would prove fatal for most other animals, such as exposure to extreme temperatures, pressure, and radiation. The fact that they are basically indestructible, according to NASA, makes them the perfect test subjects for an experiment about the effects of spaceflight on biological survival.