These Painted Ladies (Cynthia cardui) emerged from cocoons aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93) during a 1999 mission to become the first butterflies in space. They were part of a student experiment to investigate how weightlessness affects the butterﬂy life cycle. In a habitat container like this one, metamorphosis from caterpillars to larvae in cocoons to butterflies occurred successfully without the influence of gravity. Picture taken at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, USA.
<p>Butterflies gift of Dougherty County School System
High School/High Tech Program, Albany, Ga.
</p>
Habitat gift of BioServe Space Technologies
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Sanjay_ach" title="User:Sanjay ach">Sanjay Acharya</a>
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>