Spiders in Space – not science fiction monsters, but real spiders #NASA #ISS #Biology

NASA’s been curious about how spiders might adapt to space for years. Will they build webs and catch prey in zero-g the way they do on Earth? The question has interested certain scientists for a long time. An article on the 2011 experiment with spiders has recently been released. (Yes, it can take a long time to work through all the data from an ISS mission.)

First spider web in space was earlier, onboard Skylab 3 in the 1970s

Researchers confirmed their prediction that webs made in outer space were more symmetrical and the spiders did not always face downward. Surprisingly, though, they also found that the spiders behaved in a more terrestrial manner when a directional light was introduced. This was unexpected. link.springer, with thanks to Brian Dunning

Perhaps the exploits of arachnauts don’t seem likely to get humanity to Mars, or whatever goal most interests you, but if we’re going to live off-Earth, we’ll need to take other critters with us. This is an interesting start.