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Tardigrades are however sensitive to high temperatures: 48 hours at 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) kills half of unacclimitized active tardigrades. Acclimation boosts the lethal temperature to 37.6 °C (99.7 °F). Those in the tun state fare better, half surviving 82.7 °C (180.9 °F) for one hour. Longer exposure decreases the lethal temperature.
Tardigrade anatomy [3]. Tardigrades have a short plump body with four pairs of hollow unjointed legs. Most range from 0.1 to 0.5 mm (0.004 to 0.02 in) in length, although the largest species may reach 1.3 mm (0.051 in).
Tardigrades have been shown to respond to different temperature changes at different developmental stages. Specifically, the younger the egg, the less likely it is to survive extreme environments. However, not too long after development, tardigrades demonstrate a remarkable ability to withstand these conditions.
The use of tardigrades in space, first proposed in 1964 because of their extreme tolerance to radiation, began in 2007 with the FOTON-M3 mission in low Earth orbit, where they were exposed to space's vacuum for 10 days, and reanimated, just by rehydration, back on Earth. In 2011, tardigrades were on board the International Space Station on STS-134.
These include: extreme tolerance to environmental stress, tolerance to high levels of ionizing radiation, tolerance to extreme changes in external salinity and extremely low temperatures by supercooling to below -20 degrees Celsius. [9] This extreme survival ability is a common trait among micrometazoons like nematodes, tardigrades, and rotifers.
The ability to maintain homeostasis at varying temperatures is the most important characteristic in defining an endothermic eurytherm, whereas other, thermoconforming eurytherms like tardigrades are simply able to endure significant shifts in their internal body temperature that occur with ambient temperature changes. [21]
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