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Shuttle LIFE

Shuttle LIFE
Shuttle LIFE They’re back! This scanning electron microscope image, enlarged 450 times, shows the abdomen and legs of a tardigrade, or water bear. As precursors to the Planetary Society’s Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment) mission, a bunch of these seemingly indestructible little animals, along with a specialized group of microbial cohorts, flew into space as part of Shuttle LIFE. Launched on space shuttle Endeavour’s final voyage, Shuttle LIFE (along with Phobos LIFE), will test the idea that living organisms can survive in space, potentially “seeding” one world with life from another. More than 1,000 species of water bears can be found in all regions of our planet. Martin Kage, Peter Arnold Images