NASA - the world renowned space agency is also renowned for its wacky experiments.
so, while watching the movie: Spiderman, I started wondering whether NASA ever sent an insect to space or not.
I didn't take more than a google search to find out the list of bugs/insects which NASA has sent into space.
Here is the List :-
- Fruit Flies
Fruit Flies were the first animal on Space when launched on a V2 rocket then:
In 2006 NASA sent 15 fruit flies into orbit on the space shuttle discovery which returned to Earth two weeks later with more than 3000 flies on board.
- Silkworms
That is right NASA believes silkworms to be an excellent meal for future voyages.(My god)
- Ants
A colony of almost 800 ants was sent to space to test insect reactions in unique situations.
- Honey bees
That is right NASA also sent honey bees to test how they would react and found an amazing thing:
In an experiment clearly designed to terrify everyone on board, NASA sent 3500 honeybees into orbit in 1984. Researchers found that the bees were capable of building honeycombs in microgravity.
- Spiders
Spiders were sent for the same reasons to test their reaction:
Scientists wondered whether spiders would be able to weave their elaborate webs in microgravity, which prompted a trip to space in 1973. Although their webs were initially sloppy, the spiders eventually produced a web comparable to those built back home.
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Thanks for reading this...
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