In April 1984, the crew of the space shuttle Challenger conducted a live televised experiment…

In April 1984, the crew of the space shuttle Challenger conducted a live televised experiment carrying about 3,400 honey bees. This experiment demonstrated that bees can survive and build wax combs under microgravity conditions, despite the cells tilting in various directions.

The project was initiated by Tennessee student Dan Poskevich, who wanted to see if bees could construct their characteristic hexagonal cells without gravity. Sponsored by Honeywell's space avionics division, the experiment used a special aluminum box with a transparent plastic lid and a feeder containing sugar water thickened with agar. Over about a week in orbit, the bees built nearly 200 square centimeters of wax comb.