Sending spiders into space seems like a good idea (because, science), but arachnids apparently have their own notions about living in space.
NASA researchers first sent spiders into space in the 1970s, so an arachnid-based experiment to raise awareness of high school science in 2008 seemed logical. That’s before a spider pulls its muscle out of the pen.
But, as often happens, what could have simply been canceled out as a mistake became a series of experiments on spiders in space, producing an unexpected science.
Someone has to tell the spiders about the scientific method …
The experiment seemed simple enough – a pair of spiders would be allowed to live on board The International Space Station and researchers would analyze how they adapted to life in the microgravity environment.
In a separate experiment, mice launched on the ISS adapted to space conditions after a few days, and soon even they invented their own game. Spiders are very different from mice, and the reaction of arachnids was not playful.
Spiders on Earth build asymmetrical webs, with their centers closer to the top edge than the middle. Eight-legged hunters then tend to stay in the upper half of the sails, head down. In this way, gravity helps the spider as it runs towards its prey, tangled in the canvas.
In space, however, there were spiders left without gravity to guide them.
The Shawshank Webdemption
A pair of spiders, including the main subject, a Labyrinth Metepeira, and a spare spider, a Larinioides patagiatus, were launched to the International Space Station (ISS).
The reserve spider, perhaps dissatisfied with the status of co-star, burst out of closure, entering the main room of the experiment. The astronauts, unable to open the room for safety reasons, could not separate the pair of spiders in space. In a short time, the sails built by the spiders became accidental, as the two peanuts hindered each other.
Fruit flies grown as food for spiders in space also reacted to their unusual conditions, reproducing at an unexpected pace. Eventually, the larvae overcame and crawled out of the breeding container, covering the floor of the carcass. Moving into the experimental room with the pair of already annoyed spiders, the larvae soon covered the room window, preventing astronaut from seeing spiders or their sails.
Probably the experiment only needed more spiders
A second experiment in 2011, created to follow the 2008 study, was designed to learn from the 2008 accidents.
This time, the researchers used four spiders of the same species – Trichonephila clavipes, commonly known as golden silk weavers or banana spiders. Two were transported to the ISS in separate rooms, trying to avoid the previous problem with the arachnids laying dungeons. The other pair was held as a ground control group at the BioServe Space Technologies laboratories at the University of Colorado Boulder, under identical conditions to those in space (except gravity).
The problems started this time when two of the female spiders turned out to be male. These animals were selected when they were young, at a time when it is surprisingly difficult for sex spiders.
Differences in body size and structure between adult males and females of this species are significant. By chance, the experiment contained a male and a female in space and on the ground.
In each case, three cameras photographed the spiders every five minutes as the animals assembled and disassembled the webs. One hundred of these canvases were then analyzed in 14,500 images to see how they grew in the microgravity environment of space compared to those built on Earth.
Many of the sails built a few weeks after the spiders arrived on the ISS were chaotic and irregular. And, as expected, most of the networks built by spiders aboard the ISS were less asymmetrical than those designed by their Earth compatriots. In addition, the images showed that arachnids did not face each other face down as often as their earthly brethren while waiting for prey.
“Because these asymmetries are considered to be related to gravity, we expected spiders that do not experience any gravity to build symmetrical webs and show a random orientation when sitting on the stump. We found that most, but not all, zero-gravity networks were indeed quite symmetrical, “the researchers describe in an article published in the journal The science of nature.
However, spiders changed their web design significantly based on light patterns – those built under light were as asymmetrical as those built on light. Earth. Spiders under the light of the lamp were also face down predominantly waiting for an ambush of flies caught in their sails.
“We would not have guessed that light will play a role in orienting spiders in space. We were very lucky that the lamps were attached to the top of the room and not on different sides. Otherwise, we could not have discovered the effect of light on the symmetry of networks in zero gravity “, Dr. Samuel Zschokke from the University of Basel explains.
This unexpected result showed that spiders use light as a guide that shows them the way “up” when the effect of gravity disappears.
He is a cute spider, he works as a web designer …
David Bowie’s claims about Mars Spiders aside, it may seem unlikely that arachnids have developed a way to “correctly” design a network in space. Because spiders build sails and catch prey in the dark, as well as during the day, it was assumed easy they played little or no role in how they build sails. Although nature would seem unlikely to be planned for space spiders, there may be a good terrestrial reason for this ability.
Trichonephila on Earth it is oriented using an organ that records the relative positions of the front and back of the arachnid’s body. As you build a web, this positioning changes constantly over time. Therefore, spiders on Earth could use the position Sun as a secondary tool, guiding them as they move in different directions and in different positions.
“She doesn’t need to run. She is calm, her patience a perfect force; she waits for her prey to come to her alone, then catches them, injects them with venom, making them unable to escape. Spiders – so necessary and yet so misunderstood. ”- Donna Lynn Hope
The first spiders in space arrived at Skylab in July 1973, in an experiment first designed by high school student Judith Miles, as part of GODMOTHER Skylab Student Experiment Competition.
Gravity plays a significant role in the behavior of animals on Earth. This familiar force directs the growth of plant roots and plays a crucial role in bee dancing. Gravity is also the reason why elephants walk around hills, rather than above them. Until funding is provided for the launch of an elephant into space, we will never know how pachydermnauts will react to life on Earth.
As people begin to populate Solar system and beyond, we are sure to bring animals with us into space. Let’s hope that most of them will enjoy traveling more than the two annoyed spiders in space twelve years ago.
This article was originally published on The cosmic companion of James Maynard, founder and publisher of The Cosmic Companion. He is a native of New England, turned into a desert rat in Tucson, where he lives with his wonderful wife, Nicole and Max Pisica. You can read this original piece here.
Astronomy news with The Cosmic Companion it is also available as a weekly podcast, broadcast to all major podcast providers. Connect every Tuesday for updates on the latest astronomy news and interviews with astronomers and other researchers working to discover the nature of the Universe.
Read more:
Manage and complete all tasks with this Kanban on-board tool