Yes, and it has been scientifically confirmed. In 2007, the European Space Agency sent live tardigrades aboard the FOTON-M3 mission, exposing them to the vacuum and radiation of open space for 10 days. A significant portion survived and even reproduced successfully afterward. In 2019, a lunar lander called Beresheet crashed on the Moon carrying thousands of dehydrated tardigrades. Scientists believe many may have survived the impact in their dormant tun state, though they would have no liquid water to revive them. This survival ability stems from cryptobiosis, the same process that lets water bears endure extreme conditions on Earth.

The nickname water bear comes from the way tardigrades move. When viewed under a microscope, their eight stubby, clawed legs and rounded body give them a lumbering, bear-like gait as they trudge through water films on mosses and lichens. German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze first coined the term in 1773, calling them kleine Wasserbaren, meaning "little water bears." The name stuck because it perfectly captures both the aquatic habitat and the endearingly clumsy, chubby appearance of these microscopic animals. Today the nickname is so beloved that water bear plush toys and merchandise have become a cultural phenomenon among science enthusiasts.

Tardigrades are not entirely invincible when it comes to the food chain. Most species are herbivores or bacterivores, feeding on algae, plant cells, bacteria, and detritus using a piercing mouthpart called a stylet. Some species are carnivorous and will eat other tardigrades, rotifers, and nematodes. As for predators, tardigrades are eaten by nematodes, other tardigrades, mites, springtails, and various microorganisms. Their remarkable survival abilities protect them against environmental extremes, not biological predation. This nuance makes the tardigrade even more fascinating: the toughest animal on Earth is still part of a food web, just like everything else.

In active form, most tardigrades live between three and thirty months depending on species and conditions. However, because they can enter cryptobiosis and suspend all biological processes indefinitely, their effective lifespan becomes much harder to define. Revived specimens have been recorded after being dormant for over 30 years, and some reports suggest survival over much longer periods. Reproduction varies by species: some are sexual, with distinct males and females, while others reproduce entirely by parthenogenesis, where females produce eggs without fertilisation. They lay eggs that hatch into miniature versions of the adult, skipping larval stages entirely. This efficient reproductive strategy is one reason they are found in virtually every habitat on Earth.

Tardigrades are among the most widely distributed animals on the planet. They have been discovered on every continent, including Antarctica, in the Himalayas at elevations above 6,000 metres, in deep ocean trenches, in tropical rainforests, in hot springs, and in urban environments like city gutters and rooftop moss. Scientists have identified over 1,300 species of tardigrades, each adapted to slightly different niches. Their presence in extreme environments like volcanic hot springs and polar ice has made them a key subject in astrobiology, the study of life's potential beyond Earth. Finding a water bear is as simple as collecting a small clump of moss, adding a drop of water, and examining it under a microscope, making them one of the most accessible microscopic animals for amateur naturalists.