It is not every day that astronauts can claim
to return to Earth with a new species of life. But when the astronauts on ESA’s
CAVES underground training course returned to the surface they were carrying a
special type of woodlouse.
CAVES training send astronauts from all the
International Space Station partner nations underground for a week to learn
about working in multi-cultural teams under extreme conditions. During their
six-night stay in caves in Sardinia, Italy, their scientific research included
meteorology, surveying, geology and cataloguing underground life.
“Every year we scout the area to prepare for
the training mission,” says Loredana Bessone, course designer and project
manager. “This year, we noticed interesting-looking crustaceans in a small
pond.”
Laying bait
The astronauts set bait near the pond and in
other places to attract and identify as many life forms as possible. ESA
astronaut Andreas Mogensen recalls: “We set four lures in pre-defined areas and
had two mobile baits that we placed in areas of interest.”
Placing bait
Cave scientists usually leave bait for three
weeks. CAVES training lasts only a week so the biological sampling programme
developer, Paolo Marcia, cooked up a special menu to lure the underground life:
“I created really stinky bait made of liver and rotten cheese.” After three to
four days, the astronauts chose a few specimens of the less common species and
preserved them in alcohol to take above ground.
“We were concerned that not enough cave life
had been collected, so I asked the astronauts to go back to the pond on the
last day – and bingo!” says Laura Sanna, science operations director.
“Afterwards, we and the astronauts checked the specimens on a list of known
species” says Jo de Waele, science coordinator.
Alpioniscus species
Swimming underground woodlice
Molecular analysis confirms the samples
belong to a new species of crustaceans. Just under 8 mm long, these animals
belong to the suborder of terrestrial isopods, commonly known as woodlice. Most
crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps and lobsters live in water while woodlice
are the only group that have fully adapted to life on land.
The ancestors of the terrestrial isopods seem
to have evolved from aquatic life to live on land. Surprisingly, the astronauts
found a species that has returned to living in water, completing an
evolutionary full circle.
Studying samples
“This find is important because the few
aquatic woodlice we know of were thought to be primitive forms from which
terrestrial woodlice had evolved. Now it is clear that these animals have
evolved to live in water again,” explains isopod specialist Stefano Taiti. “It
is changing our point of view on evolutionary processes in regards to
terrestrial isopods living in an aquatic environment.
“The find also confirms the theory that
evolution is not a one-way process but that species can evolve to live in
previously forgotten habitats.““This shows that CAVES
offers a truly interesting scientific programme while keeping to its main goal:
to train spaceflight teams in an operational space analogue on Earth,” affirms
Loredana.
For further information visit: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMUSKGPI9H_index_2.html
No comments:
Post a Comment