Russia's ‘Noah’s Ark’ with 75 mice and over 1,500 flies returns from space

On September 19, the Russian biological research satellite Bion-M No. 2 returned to Earth, landing in the Orenburg region after a 30-day mission in orbit. The spacecraft carried more than 30 experiments and a diverse collection of specimens, including 75 mice and over 1,500 flies, to study the effects of spaceflight and cosmic radiation on living organisms.

The mission was a joint effort between Roscosmos, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP). Launched on August 20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket, the satellite was placed into a polar orbit at an altitude of 370–380 kilometers and an inclination of 97 degrees.

Nicknamed a “Noah’s Ark” for its mini-menagerie, the descent module sparked a small brush fire upon landing, which was quickly extinguished. Search helicopters soon arrived with technical specialists, who began extracting the specimens for immediate examination in a temporary medical tent at the site. Early tests included monitoring the flies’ motor activity for nervous system issues. The biological materials were scheduled to reach IBMP laboratories in Moscow by midnight on September 20.




The scientific program of Bion-M No. 2 was divided into 10 sections:

Sections 1 & 2: Experimental studies of gravitational physiology on animals, aimed at developing new life-support technologies for human spaceflight under the combined effects of weightlessness and cosmic radiation.

Sections 3, 4 & 5: Research on the influence of spaceflight and cosmic factors on plants, microorganisms, and their ecosystems—an effort to uncover universal patterns of life in space.

Sections 6, 8 & 9: Biotechnological, technological, physical, and engineering experiments.

Section 7: Radiobiological and dosimetric studies to advance radiation safety for future crewed spacecraft.

Section 10: Experiments designed by students from schools across Russia and Belarus.

One standout experiment, titled “Meteorite,” tested the theory of panspermia—the idea that life on Earth may have originated in space. Basalt rocks containing microbial strains were embedded in the capsule’s hull to evaluate whether bacteria could survive the extreme thermal stress of atmospheric reentry.