TARDIS (Tardigrades in Space)

In September 2007, members of Sweden's Kristianstad University launched two species of dried up tardigrades from Kazakhstan aboard ESA's FOTON-M3 mission. They were left in open space for a period of 10 days before being brought back to earth where they were rehydrated and even laid tardigrade eggs that were able to successfully hatch despite being exposed to a dose of UV-A and UV-B (280-400nm) of over 7000 kJ/sqm . This made them one of the first animals to have returned from space alive after being exposed to both space vacuum and solar radiation, bringing them into public focus for the first time and sparking off many other reasearch on these animals. The TARDIS project later allowed tardigrades to win the honor of being listed no.1 on Wired Science's 'Top 10 Things Launched Into Space in 2008'.

Sources:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14690-water-bears-are-first-animal-to-survive-space-vacuum.html, Rachel Courtland, last accessed: 17/2/13
http://tardigradesinspace.blogspot.sg, K. INGEMAR JÖNSSON, last accessed: 15/2/13