Spiders in Space

Two golden orb spiders (Nephila clavipes) lived in space and on the International Space Station (ISS) in separate habitat chambers from May 16 to July 21, 2011. They were transported to ISS on Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-134) and returned on Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) during the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program.

Each spider habitat chamber contained a food supply of living fruit flies, and was equipped with cameras and lighting systems. The lights were set to a 24-hour cycle that provided 12 hours of "daylight," and 12 hours of "nighttime" (operating on Mountain Daylight Time). Night photographs were captured using infrared light.

Astronaut Cady Coleman named the two spiders Gladys (Habitat One) and Esmeralda (Habitat Two) when she unpacked the habitat chambers on ISS. The habitats were installed within the Bioserve Commerical Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus, which provides the power source to run the lighting and camera module systems for the habitats, onboard the ISS.

The "spidernauts," Gladys and Esmeralda, returned to Earth on July 21, part of the Space Shuttle's final mission (STS-135). Upon her return, Gladys presented student investigators with one more big surprise. Still thriving, she was examined carefully, and it was discovered that she is really a he, a male golden orb spider. With apologies, we quickly changed the name, Gladys, to Gladstone.

Sadly, Gladstone's partner, Esmeralda, did not survive the flight home. But she heroically lived out her normal life span in space.

According to investigator Stefanie Countryman, who unpacked the spiders after their return, "Gladstone" behaved normally: "While I was transferring the male flight spider from the flight habitat to a clean habitat, he drank water immediately and then immediately proceeded to climb up to the top of the habitat. He did not appear to have any confusion or limited ability to crawl, or confusion as to what he should do to be safe."

Esmeralda and Gladstone will continue to contribute to science in the coming years. New student investigators can visit BioEd Online at any time to access all flight images collected during the mission. Individual students or entire classes can conduct their own investigations comparing the behavior of spiders on Earth to that of Esmeralda and Gladstone during their travels in space.

Hourly images of the spiders are available here on BioEd Online (see photo gallery below), and also as downloadable PowerPoint files. The free Spiders in Space guide contains instructions for setting up ground-based spider habitats and helping students to design their own spider investigations. Students are encouraged to compare their Earth-based spiders to photos of spiders living in space.

Spiders in Space Teacher's Guide

Click to download the teacher's guide and register your classes for updates about the mission.

Also available: Supplemental Mini-Guides

Spiders in Space Gallery

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Photos from spider habitat 1 on the ISS.

Spider Hab 1
Photo Slide Show

Photos from spider habitat 2 on the ISS.

Spider Hab 2
Photo Slide Show

This is a clip of Thelma catching a fruit fly in her web.

Thelma Feeding 1

This is a clip of Thelma catching a few fruit flies in her web.

Thelma Feeding 2

Gladys, a "spidernaut" aboard the International Space Station, spins, eats, and attacks her molt in space!

Gladys Morning Activity - June 3, 2011

Esmerelda, a "spidernaut aboard the International Space Station, goes on a feeding frenzy after mass hatchings of fruit flies

Esmerelda Feeding Frenzy - May 27, 2011

A control ("ground") spider from the Spiders in Space investigation builds her web

Ground Web Building - May 26, 2011

Greg Vogt, Ed.D., demonstrates how to construct a spider habitat using easily obtained materials.

DIY Spider Habitat

Watch astronaut Cady Coleman describe the installation of the spiders' habitats on ISS.

The Habitats on ISS

Watch the History of Space Shuttle Endeavour produced by NASA.

History of Endeavour

My Fox Houston features Spiders in Space on the local news.

My Fox Houston

Esmerelda, a "spidernaut" aboard the International Space Station, consumes fruit flies she has captured in her web.

Esmerelda fly capture

Esmerelda, a "spidernaut" aboard the International Space Station, tears down a web she's built in microgravity.

Esmerelda tear down

Esmerelda, a "spidernaut" aboard the International Space Station, builds a web in microgravity.

Esmerelda web building

Metepeira labyrinthea, on board the ISS during the pilot "Spiders" Mission in 2008.

Metepeira labyrinthea
Spiders in Space 2008

Photo PowerPoint Presentations

More Resources on Life in Space

What is microgravity? How is it created? This primer has the answers.

Microgravity
video

Basic information about how astronauts and their animal and plant experiments are launched into space.

Rockets: Force and Motion
video

Behavior encompasses anything that an organism does, including voluntary actions and responses to stimulation. Animal behavior has both genetic and environmental components.

Introduction to Animal Behavior
video slides

This guide offers ten activities that help students understand how the body's muscles and bones work and lets students explore important questions related to muscles and bones in living things.

The Science of Muscles and Bones
pdf

Other Resources

Mission Page for Space Shuttle STS-134.

Space Shuttle STS-134 Mission Information
URL

This supplemental mini-guide explores basic uses of ImageJ (public domain image processing software) for data collection and analysis (e.g., documenting and measuring root growth, spider web geometry, etc.).

Scientific Image Processing
pdf

This supplemental mini-guide details the key steps for conducting a scientific investigation (i.e., begin with a question, design a procedure to collect the required data, etc.).

Designing Your Investigation
pdf

This supplemental mini-guide covers the uses and benefits of naturalist journals, which for centuries have been helping scientists to organize data into a meaningful form through sketches, pictures, and written observations.

Naturalist Journals
pdf

Students examine the history, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics of rockets and rocketry through lessons and hands-on activities.

Rockets: Educator's Guide
pdf