In 1984, NASA sent about 3,300 honeybees into space to test comb-building without gravity; the colony built about 31 square inches of honeycomb

In 1984, honeybees traveled aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger for a unique student experiment. These bees successfully built honeycomb and laid eggs in zero gravity. The mission demonstrated that basic colony processes continued in the weightless environment. This decades-old experiment remains relevant for future long-duration space missions. It showed that some instincts, like working together, persist even without gravity.