Tardigrades, Animals That Can live in Outer Space

Tardigrades (known as Water Bears) are part of supefilum Ecdysozoa, phylum Tardigrada. The size is very small, live in water, with a total of eight feet. Tardigrades Eprhaim was first described by Goeze in 1773. The name Tardigrada means "slow walker" given by Spallanzani (1777). Tardigrades adult body length is 1.5 mm, the smallest size of 0.1 mm, 0.05 mm-sized larvae.

Tardigrades can be found in all parts of the world, ranging from Himalayan peaks hinngga the ocean floor, and from the poles to the equator. The most popular place where . On the beach, land and in water can be found this mini beast.

The most interesting part of this animal is its ability to adapt in a very extreme environment. Tardigrades can survive in a frozen environment (0oC) up in a high temperature (151oc). It can even withstand radiation 1,000 times higher than the amount of radiation in which other living things can survive. Therefore, animals known as tardigrades polyextremeophiles. With this capability, tardigrades are living creatures that can survive a nuclear war or another natural disaster is extreme. Even tardigrades can live for 120 years in dry conditions.

Another unique capability of tardigrades are able to survive in conditions of space vacuum. In one study tardigrades can survive for as long as 10 days in outer space environment. Tardigrades are mengangkasa use spacecraft FOTON-M3 by the European Space Agency, can survive vacuum, exposed to cosmic rays, and can even survive the UV radiation of the sun 1000 times higher than the radiation at the earth's surface.