Syllabus:

GS3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

Context: During his two-week stay at the International Space Station, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will conduct a scientific experiment on the revival, survival, and reproduction of tardigrades in space.

More on the News

• Scientists will take tardigrades to the ISS in a state of tun, before reviving them and examining the effects of space radiation and microgravity on their biological processes.
• Tardigrades have been a part of space missions since 2007, when some 3,000 moss piglets hitched a ride to space aboard the European Space Agency’s Foton-M3 mission. 

Tardigrades 

• Tardigrades, also known as “water bears”, are robust aquatic animals that have been around for roughly 600 million years, 400 million years before dinosaurs walked the planet. 
• They have survived all the five major mass extinction events to have taken place thus far, and scientists believe they could be around long after humanity has died out.
• Typically, about 0.5 mm long when fully grown, tardigrades have four pairs of legs, with 4-6 claws on each foot. 
• They also have a specialized mouth that helps them suck nutrients from plant cells, algae, and other small invertebrates.
• Tardigrades can be found almost everywhere from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans. 
• However, their most common habitat, is the thin film of water found on mosses and lichens, which bestows upon these animals the moniker of “moss piglets”.

Importance of studying Tardigrades 

• Tardigrades are incredibly tough. They can survive extreme conditions, including temperatures as low as minus 272.95 degrees Celsius or as high as 150 degrees Celsius, the vacuum and ultraviolet radiation of space, and pressures found 4 km deep in the ocean. 
• One report even notes their survival after 30 years in a freezer.
• A better understanding of tardigrades’ survival mechanisms can potentially have several applications: from helping scientists develop more resilient crops to creating advanced sunscreens to preserving human tissues and organs for transplantation.
• Resilient nature of tardigrades: 
  Tardigrades owe their incredible resilience to cryptobiosis, a state in which organisms bring their metabolism to a near-complete standstill in the face of adverse environmental conditions.
  They can reduce their metabolism to less than 0.01% of normal, and drop their water levels by more than 95%, a state called anhydrobiosis.
  Both anhydrobiosis and cryptobiosis result in the emergence of a durable shrunken state, called tun, in which tardigrades are able to withstand extreme conditions.
  Also, these animals produce unique proteins such as cytoplasmic-abundant heat soluble (CAHS) proteins which are key to their resilience.
  These proteins form a gel-like matrix within their cells, vitrifying and protecting essential cellular components from destruction. This allows them to withstand extreme temperatures, radiation, and the vacuum of space.

Voyager Tardigrades experiment 

• The experiment aims to identify the genes that make tardigrades resilient, specifically the molecular mechanisms behind their survival and DNA repair in space.
• This will help scientists develop strategies to protect astronauts during long-duration space missions, and preserve biological materials for extended space travel.
• Tardigrade survival traits could help develop ways to protect astronauts from space radiation and prevent muscle and bone loss during long missions.