Spiders in Space: Nine Days Before Launch

You and your students can be part of space shuttle Endeavor’s last flight. On April 29, 2011, an orb weaver spider will join the STS-134 crew aboard space shuttle Endeavour for a trip to the International Space Station. Once aboard the space station, the spider will star in an exciting experiment to observe its behaviors in microgravity. The spider will live in a safe environment that provides food and water. Real-time photos and video of the spider will be transmitted from the space station back to Earth and made available for students on the “Spiders in Space” mission page.

Students and teachers worldwide will be able to conduct their own classroom investigations comparing ground-based spiders with those living in microgravity on the space station. Instructions for designing classroom spider habitats and investigations are free. Visit the link below to register and download the module guide.

To learn more and download the guide, visit http://bioedonline.org/space/STS_Mission_134S.cfm.

Spiders in Space is a collaboration of NASA with Baylor College of Medicine, BioServe Space Technologies of the University of Colorado, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. Additional support comes from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Houston Endowment Inc.

Questions about the Spiders in Space module should be directed to Greg Vogt at vogt@bcm.edu.