ORLANDO, Fla. - NASA is preparing to rocket around 128 glow-in-the-dark baby squid and 5,000 tardigrades — known as water bears — into space, the agency announced May 20.The micro-animals will head to the International Space Station next week onboard a Falcon 9 rocket during SpaceX’s 22nd cargo resupply mission.Tardigrades, known as water bears due to their appearance under a microscope, are tiny creatures that can tolerate environments more extreme than most life forms.Researchers will use these microscopic creatures to study stress factors affecting humans in space. RELATED: SpaceX completes first round of Starlink launches; still dozens more to go"Spaceflight can be a really challenging environment for organisms, including humans, who.