The six silkworms that were sent into space on the Shenzhou-11 manned aircraft last October have produced cocoons, turned into moths and successfully spawned since returning to earth, according to China Manned Space. 

After undertaking research and comparisons between silk made from normal silkworms and the specimens that were in space, Professor Zhang Long from China Agricultural University and Professor Zhao Hongping from Tsinghua University found that the uniformity of silk made by the silkworm "astronauts" was slightly superior. The "space silk" had a larger diameter and was stronger in addition to being more pliable.

The silkworm space project was proposed by Chinese students from Hong Kong, and carried out by astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong. It was intended to determine whether the behavior of silkworms changes in space.