Kanu101 / CC BY 2.0

The president of the Iranian Space Agency has confirmed that the country is planning to try and send a live monkey into space after a previous attempt reportedly failed in 2011.

Hamid Fazeli told Tehran-based news agency, Mehr News, that the "testing phase of these living capsules has ended and monkeys to be sent to space are now in quarantine".

The news echoes older studies in the history of space travel by the US and the Soviet Union, both of which sent monkeys (as well as other live animals) into space to study their biological reactions and prepare the way for human astronauts and cosmonauts.

Being able to put a live monkey into space aboard the Pishgam capsule (Persian for "pioneer") would allow Iran to move one step closer to putting a human into space. With a successfully extraterrestrial monkey, the Iranian Space Agency projects it would be able to achieve human space flight within five to eight years.

"Positioning the weight vibrations and other conditions conducive to human presence in space is investigated through this life capsule," said Fazeli. "Monkeys have similarities to humans so, by observing them in space, we can examine human factors in space."

The capsule containing the monkeys will be sent into space "according to a timetable on Fajr Ceremonies" referring to the period at the beginning of February marking the Iranian Revolution.

The report adds that another, student-made, satellite is expected to be placed into orbit "by the end of the current Persian year", which falls in mid-March.

Image: Kanu101 / CC BY 2.0


Latest on wired.co.uk