Spider Astronaut Dies On Display At Smithsonian
Colin Lecher
at 02:59 AM Dec 5 2012
'Spidernaut' Nefertiti
Smithsonian Institute
Space // 

The "spidernaut" Nefertiti has died. It was 10 months old. A "Johnson Jumper" spider, it was sent on board the International Space Station in July as part of an experiment; researchers watched to see if the spider would adapt its feeding behavior to weightlessness (it did).

Nefertiti was returned to Earth after a 100-day stay, and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History then placed the spider in its insect zoo. The display opened to the public on November 29, but the spider died of natural causes yesterday morning. Rest in peace, spidernaut.

[SPACE.com]

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