Country diary: from moss to the moon, this creature can survive anywhere

Langstone, Hampshire: Despite their unassuming appearance, tardigrades are perhaps the most resilient organisms on EarthUntil I watched Star Trek: Discovery in this latest lockdown, I’d never heard of a tardigrade. But when I learned that the super-sized, space-travelling monster on screen was inspired by a real-life micro-animal, I had to see one in the flesh.There are over 1,000 known species of these intriguing invertebrates, and as they thrive in mosses, lichens and liverworts, finding