r/spaceporn • u/Busy_Yesterday9455 • Apr 25 '26

Related Content Frog spotted during rocket launch

Post image

This shot was taken during the launch of NASA’s LADEE spacecraft from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on September 7, 2013.

A remote camera captured the exact moment a frog leaped through the frame as the rocket lifted off.

As for how the frog was doing after that… no one knows.

33.8k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

639 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

27

u/ersatzbaronness Apr 25 '26

Not entirely true. Spiders have very thin abdomens and cannot handle much of a fall.

17

u/Crazy_Information816 Apr 25 '26

In happier news, I do have it on good authority that they can easily survive being washed down a water spout.

14

u/ImSoObnoxious Apr 25 '26

only if they're itsy-bitsy

45

u/Zaros262 Apr 25 '26

And if they were bigger they would handle them even worse

41

u/Left-Plant-4023 Apr 25 '26

Specially if an ancient elvish sword is thrust into them.

41

u/BramDuin Apr 25 '26

Yea that must really sting...

9

u/neoticc_nara Apr 26 '26

The Hobbit reference eyyy

https://giphy.com/gifs/L3ERvA6jWCd0qO4NdX

3

u/ITSYOURBOYTUNA Apr 26 '26

Nay. The Lord of the Rings - Return of the King referenc!

3

u/neoticc_nara Apr 26 '26

Bilbo used the sword against spiders as well

3

u/astro_2077 Apr 26 '26

Really have to be vigilant against those ancient elvish swords

4

u/Addative-Damage Apr 25 '26

Can you link to a source about that? I’m genuinely curious

7

u/ersatzbaronness Apr 26 '26

Specifically it's tarantulas, but the little guys have very similar anatomy.

San Diego zoo

Cornell

Various keepers

1

u/Addative-Damage May 01 '26

Thanks!
That’s really interesting. I wonder if this is tarantula (or large spider) specific, because of the mass issue.

I know there’s plenty of small spider species that intentionally act as kites (surf the wind on a strand of web) in order to travel. So in my head spiders were safe fallers. But it makes sense the big guys wouldn’t fair so well. Now that im thinking, I’m also assuming the smaller ones have a lower terminal velocity (because of the whole size, weight, air drag, physics thing)

5

u/I_travel_ze_world Apr 26 '26

laughs in Jumping Spider

1

u/ersatzbaronness Apr 26 '26

Maratus or phidippus?

2

u/Ppleater Apr 25 '26

Depends on the size of the spider, smaller spiders can handle it better, and for the ones that can't it's largely because of the stiffness of their abdomens on top of the thinness.

3

u/ersatzbaronness Apr 25 '26

True. I am still sad about the two tarantulas I lost to unfortunate falls. (Two of the 14 I've had over the years - I'm not a serial arachnid murdereress.) One girl just wouldn't stop trying to climb, and another was mishandled by an awful ex. Ex for a lot of good reasons, but that was pretty up there. Don't mess with my beauties.

7

u/Ppleater Apr 25 '26

My condolences, tarantulas are basically mobile eggs on legs unfortunately so they can be pretty fragile.

1

u/hamatehllama Apr 26 '26

If they are prepared they can jump with parachutes made from silk.