Space & Astronomy

75 mice and 1,000 flies to blast into space aboard Russian spacecraft

By T.K. Randall
August 18, 2025

Image Credit: NASA The somewhat grim venture, which is designed to test the impact of spaceflight on biological organisms, will be lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

Launching atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket, the Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite will be carrying a peculiar cargo consisting of 75 mice, 1,000 fruit flies and simulated samples of lunar dust and rock.

Dubbed 'Noah's Ark', the spacecraft will spend 30 days in space, ensuring that its rather unusual passengers will be subjected to high levels of radiation.When it returns to Earth, scientists will study the animals and samples to explore how they were impacted by exposure to space.

This in turn, will aid future efforts to build and live in habitats on the lunar surface.

While the whole thing might sound a bit like a one-way trip for the animals - remember that human astronauts have been venturing into space (and surviving) for decades.

Once the mice and flies return, they will most likely be very much alive.

Source: Daily Galaxy

Tags: Space