Animal Astronauts: Russia And NASA Send Mice, Geckos And Snails Into Outer Space

A group of mice, gerbils, geckos and other animals are going into outer space.

On Friday, April 19, a Russian experiment saw a crew of animals being launched into orbit for a month-long project that aims to find out how space travelling affects living creatures. The animals were sent into space atop Soyuz 2, a Russian-built rocket that blasted off from a Kazakhstan space center. Footage of the space launch was posted on the Roscosmos Space Agency website, live from the 6 a.m. lift off at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where it was held.

The animals were carried off in a space capsule called the Bion-M1. It included 45 mice, 20 snails, 15 geckos, eight Mongolian gerbils and a number of other species, including some plants and microflora. Each one was fitted in enclosures inside the capsule to ensure safety. The researches also assured that the animals would return to Earth safe and alive after the orbit.

"There has been a long history of this kind of biological research over the past 40 years, and NASA and the Russian side have been collaborating for that entire time, which is pretty remarkable. But each mission kind of brings a unique focus, be it the actual duration of the mission or the specimens being flown," Nicole Rayl, NASA's project manager said in an interview with SPACE.com.

The group of animals is expected to fly 357 miles above the Earth for one month before landing on May 18 via a parachute. The capsule is expected to land in the Russian Orenburg region.

While in orbit, a group of scientists will continue to monitor the health of the animal astronauts, while a research laboratory will be set up on the landing site to quickly test the animals upon arrival. A number of examinations will be made to find out the animals' response to the space travel.

"This is first and foremost to determine how our organisms adapt to weightlessness and to understand what we need to do to make sure that our organisms survive extended flights," Valery Abrashkin, Department Head of the TsSKB-Progress space research centre told the Russian media.

The Bion-M1 project will be the first time that Russia dedicates an entire mission to launching animals into space. It is also the longest orbit mission of its kind in the country's 40-years space program history.