Water Bears in Space: A New Delight for Fans of Awesomeness

Water bears, aka moss piglets, phylum tardigrada, are microscopic organisms that live in many different environments on Earth, from the Himalayas and polar regions, deep sea and equatorial regions, to high heat in locations of volcanic activity. They can tolerate many times more radiation that a super hero, and, can be dried out for years and then reconstitute themselves upon contact with water. Now, it turns out that they have a new ability. They can survive the vacuum of space. They are the only known living organisms, other than lichen and bacteria, that can. How awesome is that? Plus, as evidenced by the video above, they're pretty cute.