MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/. Russia’s state-run space corporation Roscosmos plans to launch the Bion-M2 satellite with mice and flies on board no later than July 31, 2024, the project’s head has told TASS.
"The timeframe of the Bion-M2 launch has not changed, it is scheduled for launch in 2024," said Vladimir Sychev, the deputy chief designer at the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "The launch should take place no later than July 31."
The spacecraft will take 75 mice and flies to space, as was initially planned, he added.
The Bion is a series of domestic satellites focused on biological research. In particular, scientists want to study the impact of cosmic radiation and zero gravity on living organisms. Mice are the main object of research under Bion-M projects. A Bion biosatellite is also intended for delivering flies, plants and microorganisms into orbit. The first similar spacecraft named Kosmos-605 was launched in 1973. In 2013, the first spacecraft of the Bion-M series was put into orbit. It delivered mice, Mongolian gerbils, geckos and various communities of microorganisms into outer space.