Spiders in Space

Spiders have been astronauts in space missions. In 1973, the two common cross spiders "aranous diadematus" Arabella and Anita became famous for their stay in the Skylab space station.

Spider Arabella Astronaut:
An "Un"-Official Portrait

Spider Arabella Astronaut
in Action

Astronaut Owen Garriott
images 8-legged fellow astronauts

Both spiders were successful in spinning webs in weightlessness; examples can be seen in above images.

Unfortunately, these two spiders did not return safely: Anita died in-flight before returning, and Arabella was found dead after splash-down of the Skylab-3 (2nd manned mission) Apollo CM.

Hartmut Frommert [contact]