Russian monkey, for the first time as a primate with a caretaking robot to Mars

In the near future, one monkey will be the first primateMarsIt may come down to.

RussianMars explorationAs a part of the plan, it became clear that the monkey is scheduled to be sent to Mars. It is said that it will be sent along with a robot that takes care of feeding monkeys during a mission, but as early as the animal protection group, protest voice seems to be rising.

Details are as below.Monkey to be sent to Mars - Telegraph

As an animal used for the space development of Russia (Soviet Union)LeicaI went to space from the 1950's to the 1960'sSpace dogAlthough they may be famous, for monkeys to be lagging behind the USA 34 years, artificial satellite launched on December 12, 1983Bion No. 6I have successfully sent monkeys to space for the first time. It seems that human beings were 22 years away from monkeys as primates that flew away from the Soviet Union to space.

Monkeys were in a state of being fixed to such a seat all the way throughout the mission.


The monkeys on Biion No. 6 are Abrek and Bion. Since thenBion PlanOkay.Russian alphabetThe monkey named in the order of Lapik and Multik who had boarded Biion No. 11 from December 24, 1996 to January 7, 1997 went to space by the end It is a monkey. Lapik and Multik have safely survived from outer space, but of the two, Multik seems to have died of a heart attack during the examination using anesthesia on January 8, 1997 one day after landing.

Either Lapik or Multik is unknown, but a monkey in the satellite just after landed in Kazakhstan on January 7, 1997.


Director Zurab Mikvabia of the Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy (Experimental Pathology and Therapy) in Georgia who supplied monkeys to the mission from the 1980s to the 1990s, the Institute conducted a simulation experiment on the ground of the Mars mission It is revealed that it is in the stage of preliminary negotiation with the Russian astronautical conference about supplying monkeys to.

Joint ground test by Russia and Europe currently in progress "MARS-500"From March to July 2009, six volunteers spent 120 days in a closed capsule assuming Mars mission.

"This program initially aimed to send a human astronaut to Mars," Mikvabia said. "But the duration of the flight to Mars is long,Cosmic raysThere is still no definite protection law developed for radiation exposure. Recently it has been suggested to send monkeys on behalf of humans. "

Estimated navigation time to Mars depends on mission type,European Space AgencyAccording to said that the round-trip mission that went to Mars and returned to Earth would require about 520 days, including a length of stay, about a year and a half.

Hubble Space TelescopeMars seen by. It is a planet next to the Earth in the solar system, but because it has a different revolution cycle, it is approaching and going away. Approximately 80 million km on average, even at the closest time there is a distance of 55 million km, and it seems that it will take about 6 months on a one way road even when it is near the current spaceship.


If Russia is planning to send monkeys as it is to Mars, Mikvabia's laboratory will seal the enclosed Mars missionBiosphereIt seems that an experiment to observe monkeys for a long time will be done. In addition, it is said that the Mars probe will be accompanied by a robot that takes food to the monkeys and takes care.

"The robot gives food to monkeys, cleanups and cleaning, our job is to make monkeys remember cooperative behavior of robots," Mikvabia says.


A spacecraft in 2004SpiritPart of the panoramic picture of Mars taken by. Is there a day when monkeys and humans can see such sight with the naked eye?