Tardigrades are exceptionally resilient animals. They can endure extreme temperatures ranging from -272.8 °C to 150 °C for 15 minutes, as well as low and high atmospheric pressures, ranging from 200 to 280 hPa to 7,500 MPa. Additionally, they can withstand ionizing radiation and X-rays up to around 5000 Gy, high doses of ultraviolet radiation between 75 and 88 kJ/m2, dehydration, starvation, and low oxygen levels. Experimentally, tardigrades have been shown to survive exposure to a space vacuum. However, their survival rate decreases if they are subsequently exposed to ultraviolet solar radiation, ionizing solar radiation, and galactic cosmic radiation. These abilities make them extremophiles, capable of surviving in various environments.
Art and fact by Tara Roth, Instagram @Stippledscience
[Edited by Nicole Rodrigues]
Reference:
Weronika, E., & Łukasz, K. (2017). Tardigrades in Space Research – Past and Future. Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere : the journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, 47(4), 545–553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-016-9522-1