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The Origin of Nutrient Gel Ant HabitatsBy Larry Murray Amid the claims and counter claims regarding who first developed the gel filled habitat that flew aboard the Space Shuttle, one fact emerges above all others, hardly anyone knows the real story! This article is intended to strip away the conjecture and provide the facts before the facts disappear forever. My lifelong fascination with ant colonies in general, and in recent years a particular fascination with gel filled habitats, prompted some fairly extensive research into the origins of the gel habitats. Fortunately my research took place several years ago when there was far more information readily available for even an amateur researcher. Unfortunately, much of the information that existed in 2006 is no longer available on the internet. In the beginning.The much touted experiment to put ants into space was a cooperative effort involving NASA, SPACEHAB Inc., Syracuse University, a group of extraordinary high school teachers, and their dedicated students. The project started in 2000, years before the January 16th, 2003 liftoff of STS 107, in what proved to be the final, ill fated flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia. A group of teachers and students at Fowler High School in Syracuse, New York wanted to observe the social behavior of ants and to test their ability to tunnel in micro gravity conditions. The favored hypothesis supposed the ants in space would be disoriented by the lack of gravity and would tunnel at a slower rate than the ants in the earth bound control. One of the biggest hurdles was to develop a habitat for the ants that would provide a hospitable environment without the need for any intervention from the busy astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle. Not only did the habitat have to provide a tunneling medium for the ants, it also had to provide food, water, and proper humidity to keep the ants healthy and active. In addition, it was highly desirable for the tunneling medium to be stable enough that the tunnels created by the ants would survive reentry intact so they could be examined upon the habitat’s return to earth. It’s all in the gel.The solution which finally solved the habitat problems was the development of Agarose or agar gel. This special gel was developed by an Italian company, Globus International, in partnership with Paragon, a US company. The agar gel was formulated to provide a stable tunneling medium. The gel also provided all of the necessary nutrition and water to keep the ants well fed and healthy. Due to the high humidity inherent in the gel, it was formulated with a fungicide to inhibit the growth of mold and other types of fungus. No idle hands here!The next challenge was the engineering of the habitat enclosure. It was necessary to control the entry of the ants into the gel tunneling medium so the experiment and the control could be precisely coordinated. It was also necessary to provide real time observation of the experiment without requiring intervention from the astronauts. The engineered solution consisted of a two chamber habitat. The ants would be loaded into the holding chamber shortly before lift off. Once in orbit, the door between the holding chamber and the tunneling chamber would be opened, providing the ants with access to the tunneling medium. The holding chamber was sized such that any gel which was removed during the tunneling process would fit inside the holding chamber. The opening of the door between the two chambers of the habitat required direct intervention but the habitat was set up for automatic image download so the ongoing status of the experiment could be observed and compared on a real time basis with the control habitat on Earth. Ant astronaut tryouts.The final piece of the puzzle in designing the experiment was the selection of the ant species that would be used to populate the habitats. The final selection came down to the Western Harvester ant. For a host of reasons the Western Harvester ant was the perfect choice. Harvester ants are large enough that they would be readily visible in the images which would be transmitted from the orbiting shuttle to the ground based controllers. The bright red color of the Harvester ants also enhanced their visibility to ground based observers. Western Harvester ants are a relatively hearty species that is adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions. The Harvester ants are more tolerant of light variations than many species and will thus continue to tunnel under lighting conditions that would inhibit activity among less adaptable species. Finally, the large mandibles on the Harvester ants make them well suited to cutting up and removing pieces of the agar gel in order to create tunnels. Unexpected results.When the time finally arrived for the experiment to get off the ground, both the space bound habitat and the ground based control were loaded with 15 Western Harvester ants. Once the Columbia attained orbit, the door separating the habitat chambers were opened in both the orbiting and control habitats. As ant enthusiasts around the world watched, the orbiter based ants began to tunnel. In the meantime, the ants in the earth bound control habitat were much less enthusiastic. Both habitats experienced ant mortality but in the control habitat the mortality rate was devastating. By day 12 of the experiment, 14 of the 15 ants in the control habitat had died. The lone surviving ant toiled on but she was no match for her space dwelling sisters. In fact one of the Fowler High School students, Rachel Poppe, expressed her concern that the ants in the orbiting habitat might tunnel out completely before the habitat returned to Earth. 
The images show the lack of activity in the ground based control habitat while the ants in the orbiting experiment are actively tunneling. Notice the gel pieces that are accumulating in the holding chamber on the immediate left of the tunneling chamber. 
This close up image shows the ongoing activity in the orbiting habitat. Note the expired ants in the holding chamber of the habitat. The living ants transported their deceased sisters to the holding chamber where they buried the dead ants in the gel fragments removed during the tunneling process. Disaster strikes!Unfortunately, a mission that appeared to be an unqualified success, ended in total disaster. Upon atmospheric reentry, the Columbia experienced a catastrophic failure. As a result, all seven members of the crew, the Columbia Space Shuttle, and every scientific experiment aboard the orbiter was destroyed in a matter of seconds. Commercialization of the Agarose gel habitat.The introduction of the Antquarium and AntWorks® gel habitats ushered in the all new space age ant habitat. The nutrient gel habitats provided the first real alternative to the popular sand filled Ant Farm® produced by Uncle Milton Industries. For nearly 50 years the Ant Farm was synonymous with ant habitats and since 1956 over 20 million Ant Farms® were sold world wide. In the United States market, the AntWorks® and Antquarium gel habitats gained sufficient market share to prompt Uncle Milton Industries to introduce the Ant Farm® Gel Colony™ to compete with the ever more popular gel habitats. Today, nutrient gel ant habitats are found in homes, offices, and schools, throughout North America and around the world. They come in multiple decorator colors and in both standard and illuminated models. However, the one thing that has not changed in over a generation, the Western Harvester ant is still the most popular species for populating your favorite ant habitat! Bibliography:Poppe, Rachel. "Shuttle Columbia and Ants in Space." The Ant Farm and Myrmecology Forum, January 28, 2002 through February 4, 2003, Walker, Cameron. "Ants in Space: Shuttle Hosts High-Flying School Project." National Geographic News, January 29, 2003, Campbell, Kimberly . "STS-107 STARS FACT SHEET." Images copyright SPACEHAB, Inc., used with permission. About the Author: Larry Murray is an amateur Myrmecologist who enjoys not only observing ants but delights in sharing his personal observations and experience. As with any scientific topic, theories and conclusions grow with our increased knowledge and understanding. Learn more about ants and ant habitats on the world wide web. Share your knowledge or ask questions at the Insect University, part of Ant Farm Universe at http://www.antfarmu.com. Copyright © 2008 Larry C. Murray. All rights reserved. (Permission for limited distribution of this article is granted for noncommercial use, as long as the article is transmitted and displayed in its entirety, including this copyright notice. Such limited noncommercial distribution must be without fee or cost.) Used with permission by Interface Network Inc., DBA Ant Farm Universe. 
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