The first-ever “spidernaut” safely returns to Earth

Take eight steps back, Psy and Biebs. Another YouTube star is born today as Nefertiti, the first-ever “spidernaut” who was the key element to the winning YouTube Space Lab experiment has made it home safely and will live out the rest of her life at the Smithsonian Museum.

Nefertiti is the first jumping spider to successfully return from space and adjust to life on Earth after a 100-day stay aboard the International Space Station. “Neffi,” as she’s called by friends, will take up residence starting today at the Insect Zoo in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Courtesy of NASA. Nefertiti, the red-backed jumping spider hunting for flies inside her space flight habitat on board the International Space Station.

The jumping spider experiment was one of two winners from thousands of ideas submitted to YouTube last year with the hopes of being sent to space as part of the Space Lab competition. Relive the epic story of YouTube Space Lab below.



Dom Elliott, Marketing Manager, recently watched “Space Lab LIVE!: Behind the Scenes.”

YouTube Space Lab, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and the International Space Station—live!

Hot off the heels of their stunning Curiosity rover landing on Mars, NASA will soon be live streaming on YouTube from another space outpost...this time a little closer to home.

On Thursday, September 13, Bill Nye the Science Guy will host a special live stream between Earth and the International Space Station (ISS). You’ll see the bright, young scientists of YouTube Space Lab and the NASA astronaut 250 miles above Earth performing the winning experiments of the competition launched by YouTube and Lenovo last year. Depending on the space station’s exact schedule, the stream will take place soon after 5:30am PT on Thursday, September 13. On the day, tune in to the channel to take part in this special event.

Amr, Dorothy and Sara, who were voted in March as the global winners of YouTube Space Lab, will join Bill and special guests to discuss their winning experiments and explore why science in space is so important for our future.



After NASA Mission Control gives the go ahead, those on Earth will be joined by NASA astronaut, Sunita Williams, live aboard the ISS, for an interview like no other. You will also have your chance to pose questions to Sunita, by publicly posting to Google+, Twitter or Facebook using the tag #SpaceLab.

Dom Elliott, marketing manager, recently watched “Armstrong Remembered by NASA Administrator.”

Ideas worthy of space travel: The YouTube Space Lab global winners

Can you teach an old spider new tricks? Could better understanding alien superbugs cure diseases on Earth? These are the questions that will be asked by the two winning experiments of YouTube Space Lab, the science competition that challenged students from 14 to 18 years old to design a science experiment that could be performed in space. Your votes and our expert judges chose the winners from thousands of entries from around the world. Experiments submitted by Dorothy and Sara, from Troy, Mich., U.S. (winners in the 14-16-year-old age group) and Amr from Alexandria, Egypt (winner in the 17-18-year-old age group) will be performed aboard the International Space Station and live streamed to the world on YouTube.

Meet Amr from Alexandria, Egypt Global Winner, 17-18-year-old age group:

   

Watch their entry: “Can you teach an old spider new tricks?”

 Meet Dorothy and Sara from Troy, Mich., U.S. Global Winners, 14-16-year-old age group:

  

Watch their entry: “Could alien superbugs cure diseases on Earth?” 

Sunita Williams—the NASA astronaut who’ll fly to the International Space Station later this year and perform the winning experiments live on YouTube—announced the global winners at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C., where the six regional winning teams were gathered. While in Washington, all the teams also took a ZERO-G weightless flight and a private tour of the the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum.

In addition to having their experiments performed in space, Amr, Dorothy and Sara get to choose between one of two awesome space adventures: a trip to Japan to watch their experiment blast off in a rocket bound for the ISS or, once they’re 18 years old, a week-long astronaut course in Star City, Russia, the training center for Russian cosmonauts.

Subscribe to the YouTube Space Lab channel for all the best space playlists and to check out video of the winners on their ZERO-G flight. Stay tuned for the live stream from space, which will take place later this year.

 Zahaan Bharmal, head of marketing operations in EMEA, recently watched "Meet the Space Lab Winners"

From snowflakes to surfactants: meet the YouTube Space Lab regional winners

At the end of January, we invited you to choose your favorite YouTube Space Lab experiment ideas from sixty finalist teams, and today we have our winners! More than 100,000 of you cast your votes that combined with the scores from our panel of judges to decide the regional winners for the final stage of the competition. Find out who won below and you can meet them all on the Space Lab Channel.

14 - 16 year old regional winning teams

• Asia Pacific region: Is space too cold for life to exist? by Patrick Zeng & Derek Chan from New Zealand
• Europe, Middle East and Africa region: Could weightless liquids be the key to better gadgets? by Laura Calvo & María Vilas from Spain
• The Americas region: Could alien superbugs cure disease on Earth? by Dorothy Chen & Sara Ma from U.S.A.

17 - 18 year old regional winning teams:

• Asia Pacific region: Could liquid magnets take us deeper into space? by Sachin Kukke from India
• Europe, Middle East and Africa region: Can you teach an old spider new tricks? by Amr Mohamed from Egypt
• The Americas region: Could a snowflake unlock the mysteries of the universe? by Emerald Bresnahan from U.S.A

The six regional winning teams will travel to Washington, D.C., where we’ll announce the two global winners (one team from each age group). These two winners will have their experiments performed 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and live streamed on YouTube as part of a global event celebrating science and space. While in Washington, all the teams will take part in a series of activities to honor their achievements, including the opportunity to experience weightlessness on a ZERO-G flight.

Space Lab invited budding scientists to submit a YouTube video describing an idea for an experiment that could be carried out aboard the ISS. The channel, which serves as a launch pad for discovering great space and science videos on YouTube, has received more than 50 million views worldwide throughout the course of the competition. This week we’re uploading interviews with the winners in their hometowns, so subscribe to the channel to keep up to date with all the latest from here on Earth!

Zahaan Bharmal, YouTube Space Lab lead, recently watched the “ESA Education (English)” playlist.