Animals in space mice, rats, frogs, newts, fruit flies, snails, carp, medaka, oyster toadfish, sea urchins, swordtail fish, gypsy moth eggs, stick insect eggs, brine shrimp ("Artemia salina"), quail eggs, and jellyfish aboard Space Shuttles. The last flight of "Columbia" in 2003 carried silkworms, garden orb spiders, carpenter bees, harvester ants, and Japanese killifish (medaka). Nematodes ("C. elegans") from one experiment were found still alive in the debris after the Space Shuttle "Columbia" disaster. "C. elegans" are also part of experiments aboard the International Space Station as well as research using quail eggs. Earlier shuttle missions included grade school, junior high and high
Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Shuttle "Atlantis" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV‑104) is a Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Constructed by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985, "Atlantis" is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J from 3 to 7 October 1985. "Atlantis" embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, STS-135, on 8 July 2011.