This is a Tardigrade. A microscopic invertebrate animal, also know as a water bear or a moss piglet, it is what is know as a polyextremophile. Meaning an organism that can survive in environments that would normally be detrimental to most life on Earth. This little critter can live for over 100 years without food or water by taking a hibernative state called crytobiosis.
“They roll up into a dried little ball, and just stay dormant, with no sign of life whatsoever. Scientists have rehydrated them from a piece of moss in a museum collection that was a hundred years old. They’ve been frozen and defrosted, put under pressure, subjected to very high temperatures, and zapped with X-Rays. They come out alive and well. Just add water.” – How to Find Tardigrades, by Michael Shaw.
Now, Tardigrades are able to survive temperatures such as absolute zero and up to 300 degrees farenheight. But with these types of abilities what is their purpose? How do they benefit the Earth? They don't. They do absolutly nothing. They aren't know to cause any diseases, or benefit the human race in any way. But they are good at space travel. Yes, these cute little bears have been thrown into space multiple times to see how spaceflight effects organism on a molecular level. They are the first known animal to survive in space. For 10 days they were exposed to the vaccum of space and the majority of them survived to be healthy and reproduce back on Earth.
Tardigrades could also be able support the idea of Panspermia. When organims that can survive that vaccum of space are somehow ejected of Earth to land on another planet in order to activate the process of evolution.
They may one day help us with the future long-term goal of exploring and extending beyond our solar system.
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