Fifteen years and a few jumped sharks later, NASA continues to blast insects and arachnids into orbit. In fact we're just one weekend away from the launch of experiment CSI 03: Butterflies in Space. According to the University of Colorado at Boulder, a habitat containing monarch and painted lady butterfly larvae will take off Monday aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, bound for the International Space Station.
The National Space Biomedical Research Institute-funded (and CU-Boulder designed) experiment has nothing to do with tiny screws, but rather education. Once the payload's in orbit, teachers and K-12 students from throughout the United States will tune in at BioEd Online to watch the "butterflynauts" grow in a microgravity environment. Some students will even carry out their own butterfly experiment for comparison, though streaming video of an Earth-bound butterfly habitat will also be provided on the site. There's even a downloadable study guide, so it's not too late to get in on the fun.
I can't read about this without thinking about my favorite tale of creepy crawlies in orbit: the 1973 Skylab experiment in which astronauts fed garden spiders tasty bits of filet mignon and watched them spin webs. The purpose was to observe how microgravity affects the weight sensing mechanism for web construction. It's also worth noting that they only started feeding them fine cuts of meat when the mission went past its original protocol. Next week's butterflies, however, are slated to feast mostly on nectar -- unless someone wants to share their shrimp cocktail?
And yes, "Simpsons" junkies, I for one welcome our new insect overlords.
Spread your wings at Discovery Space and HowStuffWorks.com:
How Butterflies Work
How Space Stations Work
5 Space Station Amenities
5 Frightening But True Space Stories
Image: A truly cosmic butterfly, Planetary Nebula NGC 6302, as captured by NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
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