NASA honeybee experiment shows successful honeycomb construction in microgravity

In April 1984, NASA conducted a student experiment during the STS-41C mission by sending approximately 3,300 honeybees into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. The primary goal was to observe how bees would adapt to microgravity and whether they could continue to build honeycombs without the physical reference of Earth's gravity.

During the seven-day mission, the bees utilized a specialized Bee Enclosure Module manufactured by Honeywell. Despite the lack of gravity, which typically aids in bee navigation and communication, the colony successfully constructed roughly 200 square centimeters of honeycomb. Researchers noted that while the bees adapted to flying in space, the resulting honeycomb featured smaller diameters and thicker walls compared to those built on Earth. The queen bee survived the mission and laid 35 eggs.