Scientists have found out whether tardigrades can reproduce after a flight into space

Tardigrades, who visited the International Space Station (ISS), were able to survive after returning to Earth and produce healthy offspring. This is reported by Hi-Tech Mail with reference to a study published on the platform bioRxiv.

The experiment was conducted by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore in collaboration with mBiome Therapeutics. For the study, they used the tardigrade species Paramacrobiotus karunaadensis, which was obtained from moss samples in southern India.

Tardigrades are microscopic invertebrates known for their ability to tolerate extreme conditions. They can experience severe dehydration, freezing, high doses of radiation, and extremely low blood pressure.

Before being sent into orbit, the animals were dried to be transferred to a resting state, in which the metabolism almost stops. The samples were delivered to the ISS as part of the Axiom-4 mission. On the sixth day of stay at the station, they were moistened: about an hour later, 106 of 180 tardigrades showed activity. The animals were then dried again.

After returning to Earth, the samples were re-wetted in the laboratory. In total, the experiment lasted 64 days and included two cycles of drying and awakening, prolonged lack of food and water, and exposure to increased cosmic radiation. As a result, about 45% of tardigrades that have been in orbit survived. For comparison, in the control group that stayed on Earth, this figure was 83%.

In addition, the surviving animals were able to lay eggs from which hatched healthy offspring. The researchers also examined the activity of their genes and found changes related to protecting cells from stress and damage.

The authors of the study believe that the obtained results will help to better understand the mechanisms of protection of living organisms from extreme factors of the space environment. They suggest that in the future, this knowledge can be useful in the preparation of long-term space expeditions and the development of ways to preserve biological materials.