Ant Colony Arrives On International Space Station (VIDEO)

WATCH: Heroic Colony Of Astronaut Ants Arrive On Space Station

A brave and hardy team of astronauts in their own, custom built habitat have made a new home inside the International Space Station.

Ant astronauts.

A colony of the hard working little blighters has arrived on the ISS to start a new life in zero gravity, along with 3,000 lbs of supplies.

The cargo was sent to the Station via a private 'Cygnus' cargo ship on 12 January.

The Orbital Sciences Orb-1 Cygnus craft docked with ISS in what is described as a "landmark" delivery, as the football field-sized space station orbited above Mexico.

Eight ant farms were delivered to the station as the latest of more than 200 experiments currently running on the space laboratory.

The craft also carried fresh fruit and belated Christmas presents to the crew, and some small 'Cubesat' satellites.

"The cargo is comprised of vital science experiments, crew provisions, spare parts and other hardware," Nasa said.

"One newly arrived investigation will study the decreased effectiveness of antibiotics during spaceflight. Another will examine how different fuel samples burn in microgravity, which could inform future design for spacecraft materials."

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