In 2005, NASA flew five thick-toed geckos aboard Foton-M2 for 16 days without food or water; all were recovered with no apparent negative health effectsFive geckos orbited Earth for sixteen days without food or water. Researchers studied how weightlessness affects these cold-blooded animals...
31 Aug, 2026, 07.54 PM IST
In 1987, Bion 8 carried monkeys Yerosha and Dryoma for 13 days; Yerosha escaped part of his restraints before the capsule landed 1,850 miles off targetThe Soviet Bion program studied weightlessness effects using rhesus macaques. Bion 8 launched in 1987 with two monkeys, Yerosha and Dryoma....
31 Aug, 2026, 07.40 PM IST
In 2013, Bion-M1 carried land snails in orbit for 30 days; hardware failures killed many other animals, but the snails survivedIn a space mission conducted by Russia in 2013, a tragic outcome ensued as most of the aboard animals, including mice, gerbils, and fish, c...
30 Aug, 2026, 04.00 PM IST
In 1969, NASA launched Bonnie the monkey for a planned 30 days in orbit; his condition deteriorated after about 8 days, and the mission was ended earlyIn 1969, a brave monkey named Bonnie embarked on a solo space voyage aboard Biosatellite III. Unfortunately, his mission was cut short due ...
29 Aug, 2026, 08.26 PM IST
In 2014, NASA sent young and older mice into space; within 9 to 11 days, the younger ones began running group laps in zero gravityIn 2014, NASA launched a group of twenty mice to the International Space Station for groundbreaking research. Remarkably, the young mice ex...
29 Aug, 2026, 08.20 PM IST
In 1959, Able and Baker survived a 300-mile Jupiter rocket flight; Able died during surgery four days later, while Baker lived to 27In 1959, two brave monkeys named Able and Baker embarked on a historic space mission. Tragically, Able passed away just four days post-miss...
29 Aug, 2026, 07.20 PM IST
In 1951, Soviet space dog Bobik escaped before launch; scientists found a stray near the canteen, named her ZIB, and sent her 100 km up before a safe returnA stray dog known as ZIB unexpectedly filled in for a canine that went missing just before a Soviet rocket launch. With no training at all,...
29 Aug, 2026, 07.00 PM IST
In 2009, NASA sent four painted lady caterpillars to the ISS; reports said all four completed metamorphosis and emerged as adult butterflies in microgravityIn 2009, four painted lady caterpillars made their way to the International Space Station, embarking on a unique journey. In the absence of...
29 Aug, 2026, 06.54 PM IST
In 1952, Patricia and Mike rode an Aerobee 36 miles up at 2,000 mph; both monkeys returned safely after scientists compared seated and prone acceleration effectsIn 1952, two Philippine monkeys named Patricia and Mike embarked on a historic journey aboard a rocket. Scientists sought to understand how...
29 Aug, 2026, 06.50 PM IST
In 1958, the US launched Gordo the squirrel monkey 300 miles above Earth; he endured 8.3 minutes of weightlessness and 40 g during re-entry, but died after his capsule sank at seaIn the historic space flight of 1958, Gordo, a courageous squirrel monkey, faced intense conditions that ultimately validated human surviva...
28 Aug, 2026, 03.50 PM IST
On STS-51B, NASA flew 24 rats and 2 squirrel monkeys with Spacelab-3; one monkey showed space sickness while the rats returned with muscle lossIn 1985, Challenger carried rats and monkeys to study microgravity's effects. One monkey experienced space sickness, mirroring human astron...
28 Aug, 2026, 01.20 PM IST
In 1989, the space shuttle Discovery carried 32 fertilized chicken eggs for 5 days; all 16 early embryos died, while 8 older embryos later hatched without anatomical malformationsIn 1989, the space shuttle Discovery transported thirty-two fertilized chicken eggs into microgravity. Although younger embryos did not end...
28 Aug, 2026, 01.00 PM IST
In 1968, two Russian steppe tortoises travelled around the Moon before humans did. They survived a punishing 20G force while returning to EarthIn a remarkable journey, two Russian steppe tortoises embarked on a mission aboard Zond 5, orbiting the Moon in September 1968. This pionee...
26 Aug, 2026, 10.37 PM IST
In 1969, Neil Armstrong brought Moon rocks back to Earth. NASA fed some of the lunar dust to German cockroaches, Japanese quail, and other animalsFollowing the Apollo 11 mission, NASA embarked on some groundbreaking biological experiments involving lunar samples. They conducted tests ...
26 Aug, 2026, 05.07 PM IST
In 1995, NASA ditched space for an experiment and got spiders stoned on marijuana, caffeine, chloral hydrate, etc.; one of these made spiders’ webs wonky and disorganised. It was not marijuanaUsually, NASA is synonymous with space missions and exploring the cosmos. Yet one time, the researchers at NASA became temporary behavioura...
25 Aug, 2026, 09.09 PM IST
In 1973, NASA sent two fish into space to test their swimming ability in zero gravity; they initially swam in loops but later used light as cue to move normally after 21 daysIn 1973, NASA sent two mummichog fish and 50 eggs aboard Skylab 3 to study how weightlessness affected their sense of balance. The fish ini...
25 Aug, 2026, 08.12 AM IST
In 1968, two Afghan tortoises who beat humans to the Moon lost 10% of their weight - They flew around the moon on Soviet Zond 5 and returned alive 3 months before Apollo 8In September 1968, two tortoises made history as the first animals to orbit the Moon and safely return to Earth aboard the Soviet Zond 5 sp...
24 Aug, 2026, 01.36 PM IST