Butterflies in Space

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Thumbnail Image for Build a Butterfly Habitat

Learn how to construct a butterfly habitat using inexpensive materials, obtain larvae, and feed and care for butterflies.

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First to Emerge (ISS)

A Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) emerges from its pupa in its habitat aboard the ISS. It is the first butterfly ever to do so in microgravity.

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Flight Attempt in Microgravity

Heres a great shot of a painted lady trying to fly without the aid of gravity. It gets a bit disoriented and bounces off a few wall before giving up and clinging to the wall. Exciting stuff!!

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Time lapse video of painted lady butterfly

Time-lapse video of the Painted lady butterfly while in orbit aboard the International Space Station. This video is a compilation of images captured of the habitat over a three week period.

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Ground-based Experiment Photos, STS-129 (2009)

Ground-based: Larvae hatched 11/09/2009 (seven days old when STS-129 launched).

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ISS Experiment Photos, STS-129 (2009)

Daily photo updates from the STS-129 "Butterflies in Space" experiment.

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2008 pilot mission photos (ISS)

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly larvae in their habitat aboard the ISS, part of the 2008 pilot Butterflies and Spiders in Space project.

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Feeding Caterpillars

A look at caterpillars as they eat.

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Painted Lady Larvae Feeding

A look at caterpillars eating.

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Formation of Chrysalis 1

First look at a caterpillar's formation of a chrysalis for its metamorphosis into a butterfly.

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Formation of Chrysalis 2

Second part of a caterpillar's formation of a chrysalis for its metamorphosis into a butterfly.

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Painted Lady Butterfly Emergence

A Painted Lady Butterfly emerging after its metamorphosis.

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New Wings

A Painted Lady Butterfly tries out its wings for the first time!

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Close Up of Painted Lady Butterfly

A close up look at a Painted Lady Butterfly.

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Wing Color, Painted Lady Butterfly

A look at the wings of a Painted Lady Butterfly and their colors.

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Painted Lady Butterflies

Painted Lady Butterflies in their habitat.

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With approximately 20,000 species on Earth, butterflies are among the world's most recognizable and popular insects. In 2009, four painted lady butterflies flew aboard space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station, where they grew and lived. Students can use original photos from the mission to conduct open-ended scientific investigations to learn how gravity and microgravity affect the life cycle of painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies.

Developed and conducted by the Center for Educational Outreach, Baylor College of Medicine, in collaboration with BioServe Space Technologies (University of Colorado), National Space Biomedical Research Institute, and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Investigation Information: Click Here

Painted Lady Butterflies in Space! On November 16, 2009, larvae that hatched six days earlier flew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. While in space, they were monitored continually, with photos and video transmitted hourly to the BCM and BioServe teams on Earth.

The larvae successfully fed, grew, formed chrysalises, and emerged as adult butterflies. The historic space experiment concluded on December 10, 2009, but photos and video from the mission remain available on BioEd Online (see below). We invite you and your students to perform butterfly investigations in your own classrooms, and compare your Earth-based butterflies to those that lived on ISS. The free Butterflies in Space Teacher’s Guide provides instructions for setting up ground-based butterfly habitats and helping students to design their own experiments.

Developed and conducted in collaboration with BioServe Space Technologies of the University of Colorado, National Biomedical Research Institute, and the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Complete Teacher's Guide

Teacher Guide

Butterflies in Space

Follow life cycle of Painted Lady Butterflies on ISS. Grow your own butterflies in class, and compare them to the space butterflies.

Grade(s)
3-5 6-8 9-12

Slide Set

Classroom Slides

Slide set containing information and images from the Butterflies in Space Teacher's Guide, for use in classrooms as needed.

Videos, Photos and Slides

Video

Build a Butterfly Habitat

Learn how to construct a butterfly habitat using inexpensive materials, obtain larvae, and feed and care for butterflies.

Photos

Ground-based Experiment Photos, STS-129 (2009)

Ground-based: Larvae hatched 11/09/2009 (seven days old when STS-129 launched).

Photos

ISS Experiment Photos, STS-129 (2009)

Daily photo updates from the STS-129 "Butterflies in Space" experiment.

Photos

2008 pilot mission photos (ISS)

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) butterfly larvae in their habitat aboard the ISS, part of the 2008 pilot Butterflies and Spiders in Space project.

Daily Photos from Space
(PowerPoint format)

Supplemental Classroom Guides

Supplemental

Scientific Image Processing

Students learn how to obtain and use ImageJ image processing software (free) to enhance subtle details in photos of an organism or experiment sample.

Grade(s)
3-5 6-8 9-12

Supplemental

Designing Your Investigation

Details key steps for conducting a scientific investigation (i.e., begin with a question, design a procedure to collect the required data, etc.).

Grade(s)
3-5 6-8 9-12

Supplemental

Naturalist Journals

Covers the uses and benefits of naturalist journals, which scientists have employed for centuries to organize data into a meaningful form through sketches, pictures, and written observations.

Grade(s)
3-5 6-8 9-12

Additional Resources

External Link

Nancy Moreno follows butterflies launched into space

EarthSky Podcast: Nancy Moreno explains that the butterflies in space experiment will help scientists – and students – understand how gravity influences growth.