Spidernaut - Redback Jumping Spider
by KJ Swan
Title
Spidernaut - Redback Jumping Spider
Artist
KJ Swan
Medium
Photograph
Description
Spiders in space? Yep.
A Redback Jumping spider (Phidippus johnsoni) joined the crew of the International Space Station on July 21, 2012. A female was placed aboard an unpiloted HTV-3 cargo carrier launched from Tanegashima, Japan. She was housed in a multi-chambered enclosure that included a spider den, as well as an isolated compartment for her space prey, fruit flies. NASA astronaut and Expedition 33 commander Sunita Williams kept tabs on the spider, named Nefertiti, activating small plungers to periodically release waves of fruit flies into the spider's den. Nefertiti dined well, leaping towards the fruit flies, injecting them with poison before feeding -- just as she would on Earth. She seemed to effortlessly adjust to life in a microgravity environment. The spidernaut returned to Earth aboard the first SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission, splashing down on Oct. 28, 2012. But that wasn't the end of her mission, the tiny spidernaut successfully transitioned from her NASA mission back to life on Earth before passing away at a normal age.
Redback Jumping spiders are sight hunters—both when it comes to prey and mating. Males, like this one I photographed, will perform a zigzag dance, twitching his bright red abdomen to attract a female. I had to get close to this tiny, little guy as he only measures a half inch (1.3 cm) but I also had to stay clear because his bite can cause pain and swelling for a few days.
Uploaded
April 21st, 2020
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