Have you ever read about water bears or tardigrades before? Water bears are not “bears” in any way. They are actually tiny eight-legged animals that can be seen only under a microscope.

But do not be fooled by their tiny size. Tardigrades are one of the toughest creatures on Earth. They can live without air in space, inside a boiling volcano and even in frozen Antarctica. They are even able to come back to life after being frozen for 30 years.

Recently, an experiment was conducted where scientists put tardigrades in their “sleeping” or frozen states. Then, they were shot out of a gun at high speed.

It was found that the water bears or tardigrades could survive after travelling fast at nearly 3,000 feet per second. However, they did get injured at higher pressure and speed than that.

In 2019, a robotic spacecraft named Beresheet crash-landed on the Moon. Tardigrades were on that spacecraft. Seeing the latest experiment with the gun, scientists believe that they would have survived the crash.

The study also shows that life could have travelled between planets on meteorites.

There are many unique animals in the world that look and behave interestingly and differently. Have you heard about water bears or tardigrades? How about a platypus or wombat? In fact, there are many unique, strange and rare animals that are also fascinating and amazing. Read more about such captivating creatures in our animal news for kids.

 

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