Approximately 800 common ants are now living in the International Space Station (ISS).
According to NASA, the common ants were sent to the ISS so that astronauts could observe how they behave in a low-gravity environment. The experiment, which was launched by private firm, Bioserve Space Technologies, aims to copy the working principles of the ants and use these principles in building "intelligent" robots.
The ants were divided into eight colonies, each around the size of a computer tablet. Video cameras are also installed to monitor each of the colonies and to capture images of the ants as they work together. These images are beamed back to Earth and will be studied by students from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. The students will then compare the data with the similar ant colonies that they have in their classroom.
The researchers have found out that as the area expands, ants tend to move in straighter lines rather than in small circles, which allows them to cover more area. Once the researchers have isolated the process which enables the ants to shift from one working formation to another, they could develop robots which can be instructed to work using the same principles.
Stefanie Countryman, a professor from the Bioserve Space Technologies, told the Bionews Texas, "'When ant densities are high, each ant thoroughly searches one small area in a circular, 'random' walk.When ant densities are low, each ant searches by walking in a relatively straight line, allowing it to cover more ground".
The ants were delivered by unmanned supply rockets known as Doves. Measuring only 2 feet across, the Doves are also equipped with high definition cameras which are used to observe climate change patterns, monitor crop harvests, and observe natural climates like floods and wildfires. The Doves were also used to deliver Christmas presents to the ISS astronauts.
The delivery of the presents and the ants was postponed several times due to emergency repairs, a strong solar storm, and the polar vortex and cold weather.
