What Were the First Spiders Sent Into Space and Can Spiders Spin Webs In Zero Gravity In Space?

On July, 28, 1973, two spiders Arabella and Anita, were launched toward Skylab and fame.

Their mission was to spin webs in outer space.

They boarded Skylab 3 with three NASA astronauts.

Arabella was put to work immediately.

The spiders produced rather sloppy webs at first, but they adapted quickly.

It took her about 2 days in space before she could spin normally.

Anita was given a break for the first few days, after which she came out spinning perfectly normal webs.

The primary investigators of the experiment were high school students from across the United States who participated in several other Skylab missions.