If you’re not familiar with water bears, or tardigrades, they are super-tiny animals that are best known for their ability to survive in some of the harshest conditions: extreme heat, extreme cold, bottom of the ocean, near volcanoes, highly radioactive environments, and even the vacuum of space.

Only animal that can survive the apocalypse

Tardigrades

What is a tardigrade? Tardigrades are microscopic eight-legged animals that have been to outer space and would likely survive the apocalypse. Bonus: They look like adorable miniature bears. Around 1,300 species of tardigrades are found worldwide.

Their life is not really known, however, tardigrades are able to stop their metabolism and become immortal (state cryptobiosis). Tardigrades were found in an ice sheet 2,000 years and came back to life. This form of resistance allows it to suspend time, but also to survive extreme temperatures.

In 2007, European researchers shot a species of tardigrade into low-earth-orbit for 10-days where they were exposed to the vacuum of space, as well as solar/galactic cosmic radiation. Upon returning to Earth, a handful of the individuals exposed to all radiation survived and were able to produce viable offspring.