Photo courtesy Monarchs In Space
So, back in early November I got an email about a neat opportunity for citizen scientists to participate in a project sponsored by MonarchWatch, the folks who run the monarch tagging programs I’ve written about here and in my upcoming citizen science book. The new project was called Monarchs In Space. Of course, in early November I was trying to meet a book deadline and my only response to the email was:
I CANNOT POSSIBLY MAKE TIME FOR MONARCHS IN SPACE THIS MONTH!
A few weeks later, the book is written and I’m sitting at my desk watching actual monarch butterflies emerge in actual outer space, and I have to take a moment to say to myself:
DUDE, ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU SHOULD ALWAYS MAKE TIME FOR MONARCHS IN SPACE!
Anyway, here’s the abridged version of what has been going on with the Monarchs in Space program:
*Scientists have sent three monarch caterpillars to the International Space Station, where they were allowed to grow and develop in a zero gravity environment. The rearing cages were monitored by video and the pictures coming back are stunning.
*All three caterpillars have molted, pupated, and as of last night, two of the three have emerged as adult butterflies. In space! Where there is no gravity!
*All along the way, the monarchs dealt with interesting issues resulting from the lack of gravity. For example, you can’t hang in a J form when there is no gravity. In fact, you can’t really ‘hang’ at all. The space caterpillars adopted a C form, heretofore undescribed, and somehow managed to undergo metamorphosis anyway. Also? Two of the pupae didn’t stay attached to the silk pad the caterpillar spun as an anchor … and so they floated around the rearing cage for the entire 10 days of the metamorphosis!
You can learn absolutely everything you might want to know about this project at the Monarchs in Space website. Pictures are added daily, and videos more randomly. Because the folks at MonarchWatch are some of the coolest scientists on (or off!) the planet, a huge emphasis has been placed on giving kids and their adults a front row seat to these experiments. Hundreds of schools across the country have been rearing control caterpillars on the same timeline as the space caterpillars … you can read what the kids are finding at the website, too.