Spider missing on International Space Station

[effowe]

Source (w/ video)

Spiders have been spotted on the space station. These creatures are welcome guests, though one of them is missing at the moment.

Spiders in space aren't new. Two arachnids named Arabella and Anita flew to Skylab in 1973. Scientists were curious to see how the spiders would react in weightlessness -- would their webs be different and how would they eat and sleep. Spiders in your house may send you scurrying for a shoe but spiders in space are almost hypnotic, as they struggle to weave a symmetric web in zero gravity.

Experiments with insects are an easy way for teachers across the country to get students involved in hands-on science, which is the goal of sending these two spiders, and some butterflies, into orbit on the latest shuttle mission to the space station.

Flight director Ginger Kerrick says they are looking for him. "The way it was explained to me is that he is a backup spider and he has his own contained space on board and he had moved out of that area. We think he came out of his bedroom and is in the living room of his house."

Kirk Shireman, deputy shuttle program manager, says that while only one spider is visible, that doesn't mean the other is missing. 'We don't believe he has escaped the payload. I am sure we will find him spinning a web somewhere in the next few days."

Astronaut Sandy Magnus, the newest member of the space station crew, was asked how the visible spider was doing.

Mission Control: "Is it weaving an organized looking web or is it something neat to see?"

Magnus: "The web is more or less 3-dimensional and it looks like it is all over the inside of the box, more of a tangled disorganized-looking web than a 'Charlotte's Web' kind of web."

The spiders will return to Earth when the Space Shuttle Endeavour lands at the end of its 15-day mission later this month.

 

[drum]

hopefully the web will be stronger to catch the huge mutant alien fly species.
edit: Syringer NOT wanted for questioning

 

[Vehemence]

OH SHI-

 

[UnatcoAgent]

Keep Syringer away!

 

[UnatcoAgent]

beat me to it drum

 

[Epic Fail]

Syringer!!

 

[Epic Fail]

The spider stole a tool bag already, commence the invasion.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/s...r.spacewalk/index.html

 

[Farang]

They'll clog the instruments!

 

[destrekor]

oh great. Exposing these spiders to radiation in space is surely going to doom us all. A mutant spider babby is gonnna bee formed and we'll have SpiderAstroman slingin his web all over the ISS and will camp up with a huge web on the moon, just waiting for us to return. So maybe the Chinese can get their before we do and will tip us off so we can nuke the moon and hopefully get rid of the multiple babbies.

 

[Tiamat]

:laugh:

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: destrekor
oh great. Exposing these spiders to radiation in space is surely going to doom us all. A mutant spider babby is gonnna bee formed and we'll have SpiderAstroman slingin his web all over the ISS and will camp up with a huge web on the moon, just waiting for us to return. So maybe the Chinese can get their before we do and will tip us off so we can nuke the moon and hopefully get rid of the multiple babbies.

instain mother will kill babby becuse babby cant frigth back

 

[vshah]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: destrekor
oh great. Exposing these spiders to radiation in space is surely going to doom us all. A mutant spider babby is gonnna bee formed and we'll have SpiderAstroman slingin his web all over the ISS and will camp up with a huge web on the moon, just waiting for us to return. So maybe the Chinese can get their before we do and will tip us off so we can nuke the moon and hopefully get rid of the multiple babbies.

instain mother will kill babby becuse babby cant frigth back

:beer:?

 

[spidey07]

Good job my minions! Now use your new power to chew the station "Lost in Space" style!

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: vshah

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: destrekor
oh great. Exposing these spiders to radiation in space is surely going to doom us all. A mutant spider babby is gonnna bee formed and we'll have SpiderAstroman slingin his web all over the ISS and will camp up with a huge web on the moon, just waiting for us to return. So maybe the Chinese can get their before we do and will tip us off so we can nuke the moon and hopefully get rid of the multiple babbies.

instain mother will kill babby becuse babby cant frigth back

:beer:?

 

[DrPizza]

Read my post history. I'm 100% for science. But seriously, this is what we're spending money on for the ISS? And, at half a billion dollars per space shuttle launch to take... spiders... to the ISS? Of course, they'll find the spider. They've got nothing better to do with their time.

The only positive aspect to the ISS is that they can do experiments that are fun for elementary children to get them interested in science. Unfortunately, it's too little done to get them interested & (imho), perhaps the lowest bang for the buck possible in generating science interest.

 

[keird]

The ISS will have a fucking TIE fighter!

It's about time. I'm a little worried that the Italians are designing it, but I have to admit they got style.