Articles Intermission: Meet the First Animal to Survive in Space Tardigrades are the first animals to be able to withstand to extreme weather conditions of outer space.Pete(r) Karinen04.03.13 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W194GQ6fHI Tardigrades are the first animals to be able to withstand the extreme weather conditions of outer space. This has led scientists to the question: did Tardigrades actually come from outer space?