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Spiders In Space

Orb weavers launched into space aboard the Shuttle STS-126, en route to the International Space Station. Sent by Boulder-based BioServe Space Technologies, part of the University of Colorado College of Engineering, the arachnids will serve as a classroom tool for teaching fifth though ninth graders about the effects of zero gravity. "A lot of spider behavior is based on gravity -- hanging upside down, dropping down on a drag line, even web building," says Stefanie Countryman, Payload Mission Manager for BioServe, which has sent arachnids aloft before on the shuttle Columbia. "At first weightlessness is a shock and they float around a bit, but they get used to it pretty quickly and start tethering their silk to the walls to crawl across, rather than dropping down," she said. Planning for the spider's comfort involved Dr. Paula Cushing, Department Chair and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, who provided insight into the web spinners' needs. Cushing, recalling the horrors of domestic airline flights, vowed to ensure that these spiders get both food and drink during their trip. "In the 1970s they sent a spider up to Skylab, but didn't send food or water," she said, "then they couldn't tell if the web was built differently because of zero gravity or because the spider was dehydrated and starving." As a result, fruit flies will be included for meals, but because they're not protein-rich, they've been fed dry dog food to plump them up. "They're the biggest fruit flies I've ever seen," says Countryman, quickly explaining that hundreds of school children won't log on to see their spider getting pummeled by its food. "The spider still wins every time," she said. Cushing and Countryman will be on hand at the launch in Florida to decide which of five spiders have the right stuff for cosmic cruising. "We'll assess their condition and behavior, but the ones who build webs most consistently will be the ones that go," said Cushing. Only one will fly first-class, with room to weave. The back-up spider flies coach, in a tiny cargo hold barely large enough for the folding tray table. The entire habitat is in a three-level containment system designed to prevent the spider's escape. But any science fiction fan knows it might fail, resulting in the spider getting loose, exposed to gamma-rays, taking over the ship, and flying off to join the Sith lords (readers, this is unlikely - to date no spider has been accepted into the Sith lord fraternity). NASA Web site profiles of the astronauts don't include the plucky arachnonauts yet, no doubt due to the last-minute decision on which of the five will fly. But the seven-person crew is ready to welcome their new teammates and have been trained on how to care for them. "The astronauts just love educating kids and find it exciting to have something alive up there with them," said Countryman. Participating classrooms will be given orb weavers of their own, and via the 24-hour Web cam tracking the arachnid's activity, will compare their spider's web and behavior to that of the ones on the shuttle.