spacetoday.net: Russia launches biological research satellite

Posted: Sat, Apr 20, 2013, 9:22 AM ET (1322 GMT)
Soyuz launch of Bion-M1 (Roscosmos)

Russia launched a spacecraft Friday carrying plants and animals on a one-month research mission. A Soyuz 2-1a rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:00 am EDT (1000 GMT) Friday and placed the Bion-M1 spacecraft into orbit. Bion is carrying dozens of animals, including mice, gerbils, and geckos, as well as plants and microorganisms, to study the effects of microgravity and the space environment on them. Bion will remain in orbit for one month before returning to Earth. Russian scientists plan to use the data collected during the mission to support planning for future long-duration human spaceflight, including eventual missions to Mars. the launch also carried several small satellites from Russia, Germany, South Korea, and the US as secondary payloads.