Animals

Tardigrades could teach us how to handle the rigors of space travel

These tiny eight-legged creatures are an inspiration

A tardigrade

Tardigrades (one shown) are found in moist, green places, hence the fitting nicknames water bear and moss piglet.

Eye of Science/Science Source

By Douglas Fox

No beast on Earth is tougher than the tiny tardigrade. It can survive being frozen at -272° Celsius, being exposed to the vacuum of outer space and even being blasted with 500 times the dose of X-rays that would kill a human.

In other words, the creature can endure conditions that don’t even exist on Earth.