Tardigrades survived being blasted directly into the vacuum of space

Tardigrades (water bears) are microscopic, eight-legged animals capable of entering a state called cryptobiosis — they essentially halt their metabolism, dry themselves down to a few percent of their normal water content, and curl up into something like a dehydrated husk.

In an experiment in low Earth orbit, tardigrades were exposed directly to the vacuum of space and full solar radiation, with no protective shielding from the spacecraft whatsoever. After returning to Earth and being rehydrated, some of them came back to life and reproduced normally.

These are also animals known for surviving extreme temperatures — from near absolute zero to over 150°C — and pressures several times higher than those at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

The stakes: tardigrades are one of the very few multicellular organisms on Earth to prove they can survive conditions previously assumed to be flatly lethal for any animal life.