Bugs Beat Space Environment

Tiny bugs called water bears were launched into orbit aboard an ESA satellite last September and exposed to the harsh realities of open space. Upon recovery of the satellite, scientists found most of the water bears had survived. They are now breeding away as usuial.

Scientists knew before the flight that water bears have the ability to go into a dormant state when their environment turns against them. Clearly, that's what they did in space. Researchers have found no DNA damage in the creatures, either. Since the water bears were exposed to radiation over an extended period, scientists think their DNA had to have been damaged, which means it found some way to repair itself.

The ability of these tiny creatures to survive incredible conditions hint at the remarkable discoveries that may be made in an extensive program of basic biological research beyond Earth. Pharmaceutical companies are interested in carrying out such research, obviously within the context of developing new therapies and increasing their profits over some long term. That's how capitalism works. The excitement of space tourism notwithstanding, the promise of fundamental new insights into life processes-- insights that could not be achieved on Earth-- may be what makes all the money spent on space so far seem like a bargain of historic proportions.