Mondo Knows Facts
Tardigrades can survive outer space and extreme radiation
Tardigrades enter a dormant state called cryptobiosis when dried out.
Also known as water bears, tardigrades expel nearly all body water and synthesize protective proteins to shield cellular structures. In this state they endure temperatures near absolute zero, pressure six times deeper than ocean trenches, solar radiation, and vacuum conditions.
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Tags: tardigrade, microscopic, survival
Tardigrades can survive outer space and extreme radiation: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Tardigrades enter a dormant state called cryptobiosis when dried out. The figure is taken from Encyclopædia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a animals fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.