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Space Science

Australian Spiders Travel To Space 28

Posted by timothy from the why-can't-they-send-them-all dept.
Mike Parsons writes "CNN is reporting an interesting story on Australian spiders that will travel to space for a scientific experiment. Here is a quote: Eight spiders from Australia will make a trip to outer space to help the U.S. space agency test the effects of zero gravity. It's not the first time arachnids have been sent into space. In 1973, NASA sent Arabella, a common cross spider in the United States, into orbit on the Skylab space station."
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Australian Spiders Travel To Space More

Australian Spiders Travel To Space

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  • Spiders in zero gravity (Score:3, Interesting)

    by DeadSea ( 69598 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @11:20AM (#5055368) Homepage Journal
    I saw a news program that had some sort of zero gravity simulation using very strong magnetic fields. It was very similar to these machines, I believe. [csaengineering.com] The zero-g chamber on the things is a tube about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide. Much to small for a human (the magnetic fields for something that big are prohibitive), but they put a strawberry, and then a spider inside. Both turned out just fine, but the spider looked like it got a bit seasick as is scambled around. Kinda cute to watch. I wish I could find some pictures.
  • THIS is a web.

    ...And his name will be Bruce, obviously.

  • Fear the web! (Score:4, Funny)

    by iMMersE ( 226214 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @11:23AM (#5055391) Homepage
    I just hope the astronauts don't have arachnophobia.

    Just imagine, you're in outer space, trapped inside a sealed container, no place to go, and you feel something moving inside your AstroSleepTight (tm) bag ...
  • Spiders are irradiated in space, they bite humans who gain spider abilities and become superheroes...
    Wait, I heard something like that some ware before...

  • obligitory simpsons quotation (Score:4, Funny)

    by farnsworth ( 558449 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @11:38AM (#5055515)
    watch your local news for this story:

    Ladies and gentlemen, er, we've just lost the picture, but, uh, what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft has been taken over -- "conquered", if you will -- by a master race of giant space ants^H^H^H spiders. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive earth men or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain, there is no stopping them; the ants^H^H^H spiders will soon be here. And I, for one, welcome our new insect^H^H^H^H arachnid overlords. I'd like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves.

  • Out of all the things to send into space!

    Obviously they will thrive in zero g and, coupled with strange cosmic radiation that they will inveriably encounter, will grow to enourmous size and intelligence and eventually invade the earth!

    Couldn't send something cute could they - oh no.

  • Wow (Score:2)

    by isorox ( 205688 )
    Here is a quote: Eight spiders from Australia will make a trip to outer space to help the U.S. space agency test the effects of zero gravity

    I had no idea spiders were so benevolent! I take it they are getting a 5* hotel stay before lift off, for their generous donation of time. This experiment will surely enhance Astrailian-Spider relations.

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @12:56PM (#5056290)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • The itsy-bitsy spider went up to outer space;
    down back to earth, Whoah! It grew a human face!
    Out came the media and the experts to explain,
    how the itsy-bitsy spider got a such a fucked DNA strain.
  • For who knows when the spider mother ship will land(in austrlia) causeing havoc and forcing all humans to make a giant daeth ray to point at our queen spiders political oppositon.
  • guess there must be flys (flies?) in space, too - otherwise, they'd have to feed the spiders goo from tubes, which they probably wouldn't care for too much.
    • goo from tubes, which they probably wouldn't care for too much.

      Besides, would ANYBODY (spiders included) really eat anchovy paste? I've never figured out why they decided to send that up with the astronauts anyway.

      (Aww, come on, didn't anybody else watch "The Rocket Man?" ... No? ... Geez. Me and my loserness will just sit here and mope.)

  • Obviously propaganda (Score:3, Funny)

    by msouth ( 10321 ) on Friday January 10, 2003 @05:22PM (#5059020) Homepage Journal
    This is obviously an attempt to embarrass the Chinese. Look at the timing--they have a big announcement about sending up and recovering an unmanned rocket equipped with life support, but no humans yet. So what does the swaggering west do? "Hey, look, even our spiders can go to space!"
  • And when we've sent all the spiders into space, we can start on Microsoft executives. Then we can build a big spaceship and fill it with marketing consultants and telephone cleaners...

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