For the next space mission, SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 will take 5,000 water bears and 128 glowing baby squids to the International Space Station (ISS).
As per a press release, the 22nd SpaceX cargo resupply mission will be launching to the ISS on June 3.
The cargo resupply mission will also carry other stuff that indices crew supplies, new solar panels and vehicle hardware.
As per NASA, the experiments aboard ISS will study how water bears tolerate space, microgravity, symbiotic relationships, formation of kidney stones and more.
The mission will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Moreover, studying how space travel affects them will help scientists understand the impact of space travel on human. This will help them to come up with countermeasures against the adverse effects of microgravity.
Tardigrades are also known as water bears. NASA chose them for tolerating extreme environmental conditions. They can also survive deadly radiation, extreme water, air deprivation and starvation. They have an ability to get through space vacuum when they were last sent to space in September 2007.
Scientists are also testing glowing baby bobtail squids. They have a special ability to glow because of the bacteria that live inside their bodies.
Moreover, these creatures have immune systems similar to humans. Their system works in a symbiotic relationship. Now scientists will study how their relationship is affected by space travel. This will help in mitigating the adverse effects on human’s symbiotic relationships with bacteria that live in our bodies.
