ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Darwin Mission

Okay, imagine you are holding a race between different types of animals, like cheetahs, lions, and zebras. Some animals are really good at running fast while others are good at hiding or blending in with their surroundings. Now, let's say you want to know which animal is the best at surviving in their environment. How would you figure that out?

Well, that's kind of what the Darwin mission is all about! Scientists want to study different organisms living in space to see how they adapt to their harsh surroundings. The mission is named after Charles Darwin, who came up with the theory of evolution. This theory explains how animals and plants change over time to better suit their environment.

So, scientists sent a spacecraft called the Darwin mission into space with lots of tools to study different organisms that could survive in extreme conditions. These organisms would be living in a special environment inside the spacecraft that would simulate the harsh conditions they might experience in the future if they lived on a different planet.

The scientists would then study these organisms over time to see how they change and adapt to their environment. They would use this information to learn more about evolution and how it works. This could be important in helping us understand how life on Earth has evolved and how it might evolve in the future.

In summary, the Darwin mission is a scientific expedition that aims to study different organisms in a simulated environment in space to learn more about evolution and how organisms adapt to extreme conditions. Just like how you might hold a race to see which animal is the best at surviving, scientists are studying different organisms to see how they thrive in the unique environment of space.